


Home is Where the Heart is...and it's the Target

by PeterStark



Series: Found Family [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Awesome Jarvis (Iron Man movies), Ballet, Emotional Baggage, F/M, Family Feels, Food Issues, Hurt/Comfort, Irondad, Karen is amazing, M/M, No Beta, Not Canon Compliant, Obadiah Stane is Alive, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Parent Steve Rogers, Parent Tony Stark, Past Character Death, Past Homelessness, Peter Parker Meets the Avengers, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Probably ooc, Superfamily, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Villain Tony Stark, and an asshole, but not really, spiderson
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:48:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 27,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25662370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PeterStark/pseuds/PeterStark
Summary: After living on the streets, Peter has found a home and his family in Tony Stark and Steve Rogers. He's finally getting back to his normal life, or as normal as it can be. Not that being a teenaged superhero, adopted by an actual Avenger and THE Tony Stark could ever be 'normal.' The family is slowly getting used to their lives together.Too bad Obadiah Stane has something to say about that.The second story in the Found Family series. Read A Place to Rest Your Head first to make sense of this one.
Relationships: Peter Parker & Steve Rogers, Peter Parker & Steve Rogers & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Peter Parker/Original Female Character(s), Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Series: Found Family [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1692646
Comments: 153
Kudos: 324





	1. First Patrol

**Author's Note:**

> It's been a while. I thank you so much for the support of the previous two parts of this series. You guys are amazing and I love you all. Life has gotten really busy with the state of the world and it's super stressful. No promises I'll keep a updating schedule consistent, but I'm going to try. Really do love you guys. You're amazing.  
> I hope you guys enjoy this.  
> I own nothing.

"I'm feeling really anxious right now. Like eight out of ten anxious." His breaths came in little pants as he looked over the edge.

Steve asked. "Then why don't you step away from the edge of the building?"

"Because I can't NOT look. Why the hell are we up here? Are you sure it's safe?!"

"I've done this a million times... Okay, probably closer to a few thousand, but still. How are YOU afraid of heights?"

Steve snorted. "He's not afraid of heights."

"Could have fooled me." Peter laughed and walked to the edge, jumping up onto the raised concrete that kept normal people from falling off. He looked down the side of Stark tower.

"Oh my God, please stop. That's like so much anxiety." Tony put his hand over his arc reactor.

Peter turned, his eyes wide. "You're anxious for ME?"

"It's dangerous! We're almost a hundred stories up!"

"I laugh in the face of danger." Peter grinned, leaning forward, loving the way the wind felt in his hair.

"You fly in a tin can through the sky." Steve giggled. "What's the problem? This is nothing compared to how high you fly."

"It's Peter! Our kid is in a thin, very thin layer of fabric standing on the edge of a building."

Steve pinched the bridge of his nose. "A thin layer of fabric that you made. Trust me, darlin', he's safer than he's ever been, being in that thing."

"Is no one else stressed out by a fourteen year old kid standing on the edge of a roof, poised to jump?" Tony asked.

"Jumping's part of the plan, Dad." Peter laughed.

"I would just like to point out that I'm not the crazy one. For the first time, I'm the fucking sane one." Tony shook his head.

"Language, darlin'. Alright. Remember the ground rules." Steve said seriously, waiting until Peter made eye contact first, before continuing. "Nothing too dangerous. That means stay away from knives, guns, Iron Man, and collapsing buildings if at all possible."

"Got it." Peter nodded.

"Take it slow, stay safe. If you need help, call us. We're here. It doesn't matter where we are or what we're doing. You call if you need help and there is no shame in needing a hand, got it?" Steve asked, his voice very 'Captain America.'

Peter nodded.

"Remember the curfew?" Tony asked.

"Eight on school nights, nine thirty on weekends, and ten on vacations, but I can't start slacking on responsibilities or family time." Peter repeated the lecture that had been drilled into his head. He acted a bit put-out, but he liked it. He'd spent months in foster homes that didn't give a shit if he came home and months living on his own with no family to give a fuck about him. Knowing that he'd have two very pissed off parents at home if he was late, knowing that they cared that he came home for dinner, knowing that they cared that he kept his grades up and did things he cared about...knowing that they'd care if he got hurt while patrolling... That was really nice.

"That's right." Steve gave him a thumbs-up. Then he walked forward and held out an arm. "Come here."

Peter climbed down and stepped into Steve's hug.

"You stay safe out there, bud. Remember the training we did. If anything gets too dodgy, you call for back up or you run, okay, Queens?"

Peter nodded into his chest. "Okay, Papa."

"You use that brilliant head of yours and take it easy on your first time out, okay?"

"Mm-hm."

"Have fun." Steve kissed the top of his head. "I love you."

"Love you too." Peter knew well enough that neither of his new parents were thrilled to see him vigilante-ing. They both understood, of course, why Peter wanted to do it, why he felt the need to go out there and help. Neither of them wanted that stress and pain for Peter. Peter'd heard them talk about it. He'd also heard how reluctant they were to let him go out, given his age. But, Peter, back before they were even going to foster him, had made it very clear he wouldn't stay if he couldn't be Spiderman. He loved them...so much...but he had to be Spiderman. He knew from experience that he had the power to stop bad things from happening...and if they happened it was on him. They'd had many reservations...but as far as Peter was concerned, they'd struck a good deal with him. If he had to follow more rules...then he would if it meant he could keep people safe.

Peter could be Spiderman, but the Friendly Neighborhood sort...not the 'taking down Iron Man' sort.

He smiled and pulled away from Steve, then turned to Tony, who looked a bit green. "Dad, you okay?"

"You're just so small and that...is a really big drop."

"I've done this loads of times. My web shooters are fantastic." Peter was not going to talk about the one time a cartridge ran out and he'd fallen fifty feet onto a dumpster, because Tony didn't need that stress in his life. Plus, the new heads-up display they'd been working on kept track of his web fluid (at Peter's (hopefully) subtle suggestion).

Tony shivered and reached out, putting a hand on Peter's shoulder. "Okay, okayokay...." He took a deep breath. "You be safe. And I want a full report of anything you can think of that the suit needs, got it?"

"Of course."

"Um...I left you a present. We didn't talk about it...but you'll find out when you put the mask on and um...land safely. Um..." Tony suddenly pulled Peter into a hug. "Are you sure you don't want to start on a smaller building?"

"Taller buildings are easier to swing from. Physics and surface area, Dad." Peter chuckled, but held Tony a little tighter, hearing that Tony's heart was beating a little faster than normal.

"Okay..." Tony pulled away and took a breath. "Alright. Total faith in you...just... Be careful out there, kid."

"I will. I promise." Peter nodded.

"Go be a hero." Tony smiled.

Peter grinned, pulled on his mask and ran to the edge, jumping back up. "This is gonna be so awesome! Yeet!" He threw himself off the building.

"Oh my God!" Tony pressed a hand to his chest and ran forward, looking over the edge. He saw Peter swing and could hear the excited 'woooooooo' of joy before the red and blue blur that was Peter was gone, headed for Queens. "My heart stopped for a moment. Holy shit."

"Look at him go." Steve beamed proudly.

"My heart just stopped." Tony huffed again.

Steve wrapped an arm around him and then leaned down, pressing his ear over the reactor. "Nope. Still ticking." He smiled and stood up straight, pressing a kiss to Tony's temple. "He's going to be okay. He's a good kid and a smart one. Plus, he's stronger than me."

"You wipe the floor with him, Steve."

"He's getting better. And with his webs he's consistently keeping pace with me. Even Nat says he's getting really good. Once his brains and brawn meet...that kid will knock me out."

"How are you so calm right now?"

Steve sighed. "I'm not. But we can't stop him, he'd find a way to sneak out, trust me, I was just as stubborn at his age, if not more so. If we hold onto him too tight, he'll get himself hurt. But at least we have some ability to help him now." He frowned and pulled Tony closer. "You wrapped him up in a suit, and I know just how much protection and help you poured into it. Nat and I have been training him. He's back to full strength and well, he's got his rules."

"He's not going to follow them, you realize? The no knife and no gun rule? Those are going to be broken so damn fast." Tony did not sound happy about it.

"Yeah, he will, but I'm hoping he'll tell us...plus, we'll always know if he's ever in trouble." Steve leaned into Tony. "It's not ideal. Frankly, I wish we could have held him off, at least until he graduated, but...I can't ask him to be half of who he is. Just like I can't ask you to stop being Iron Man and you don't ask me to stop being Captain America. We can't be half of what we are, it'd drive us crazy."

Tony huffed, but nodded. "Yeah."

"Let's get inside, it's a bit chilly up here."

"Okay."

-

Stane traced the circular hole in the chestplate that Tony'd made. Stane had seen it, of course, when Tony'd first come home, the blue glow in his chest. Stane'd made the intuitive leap. The thing their suit was missing was the very thing Tony had implanted in his chest. The only problem was, Stane couldn't miniaturize the arc reactor, no matter how much time he spent or how many people he threw at the problem...he couldn't mimic Tony's work. But his suit was functional now. Though...to be fair, he did want the arc reactor. Taking it from Tony's chest wasn't an easy option. Tony kept his lab locked down. When he went out he was almost always with Steve Rogers or one of the other Avenging idiots. 

Perhaps he could take it from Tony's corpse once he'd killed him. Then Stane would have the ultimate weapon and he'd get to sell his weapons without any trouble.

It was a happy image, the idea of taking that glowing energy out of Tony's dead body. A better image was taking it out of Tony's very much alive body, seeing the horror on Tony's face. It'd be what the Stark deserved, after all the pain he'd put Stane through.

He'd need to test his suit soon. All he had to do was put the bait out there for Tony to chase.

-

"Hello, Peter."

"Hey, JARVIS." Peter responded happily as he swung into Queens. "What's happenin'?" He asked as he flipped up onto a building. He stuck the landing and damn it felt good to be back.

"Much, Peter. But I was informed to present a gift to you."

"A gift?"

"Sir has been hard at work. He wanted your suit to run at its optimal capabilities and for you to have someone who could be devoted to looking out specifically for you."

"Aw, that was nice. But you already look out for me all the time at home. You don't have to follow me around out here." Peter loved JARVIS. He wasn't sure anyone else could claim to have an electronic friend, but JARVIS was a friend to him. Peter didn't like asking JARVIS for too much. The AI was already responsible for so much.

"I'm not, Peter. That is what I am trying to tell you. Sir wanted you to have a whole AI to yourself."

"Wait...what?!"

"Would you like to meet her?"

"Wh-what? Yeah!"

"Of course. She'll report to me on everything pertinent, but she's yours. Have a good patrol, Peter. I'll see you once you're home." JARVIS disconnected. The red and gold associated with his interface faded from Peter's heads-up display. Then blue light filled the display instead.

"Hello, Peter. It is so nice to finally meet you." A warm woman's voice said.

"Oh...my God." Peter whispered. "Uh. Hi." JARVIS was his best boy, always...but holy shit he had his own AI.

"I have taken into consideration some of the preferences that you had JARVIS set up. Is this okay?"

Peter looked at his display and grinned. "Yeah, that's perfect. I like the blue, Suit Lady."

"Thank you."

"So...wanna help me catch some bad guys?"

"Sure thing, Peter."

-

"Am I allowed to let the arachni-kid in through a window?" JARVIS asked.

"Always." Steve answered and stepped behind Tony and reached around him, guiding his hands. "Like this, darlin'. Fold, push, turn. Fold, push, turn." Steve let go of Tony's hands and watched him work. "Much better." He praised before grabbing flower and sprinkling some on the granite counter. "Keep going."

"You never said this would be a workout."

Steve laughed. "If you can't do this, there is a more pleasurable workout that certainly takes more energy. You'll probably be too tired tonight."

"Wh-what? No. I'm not too tired. Psh." Tony said, kneading the dough with a little more energy. "Totally not a workout. I'm so not tired."

Steve snickered and wrapped his arms around Tony's waist, kissing his neck. "Oh, I had big plans, but I'm sure this'll just tucker you right out."

"Oh, don't be like that, honey. I wanted to try that thing."

"Traumatized teen in the room." Peter called before dropping from the ceiling and pulling off his mask.

"We weren't doing anything." Steve grinned. "Got my hands above the belt and everything."

"Unfortunately." Tony pouted as he continued to work on the bread.

"I so, do not need to know these things." Peter wrinkled his nose.

"How was it?" Tony asked as Steve rested his chin on his shoulder. 

"Fantastic! And thank you so much for Karen, she's great. I love her." Peter grinned. "I mean, JARVIS is like my best boi, but...Karen's my girl."

"Karen?" Steve asked.

Tony scoffed. "Let me get this straight... I give you a shiny new suit. And I give you a brand new, shiny, AI...and you name her after Plankton's computer wife?"

Peter blushed, but then straightened up and folded his arms over his chest. "Yes, yes I did. So what?"

"Only you, kiddo. Is the suit alright? I expected you to be gone longer."

"The suit's awesome. I just got hungry." Peter shrugged. "I guess I'm not used to working out so much...or going too long without food. Good things, though, right?"

"Great things." Tony agreed. "Karen should talk to JARVIS and give me feedback on how the suit worked, but if you think of anything you need or want, let me know."

"Okay." Peter nodded.

"What'd you do today?" Steve asked.

"Um, I caught a car thief. I got this kid a new ice cream from the truck when he dropped his. I helped a lady home, she was being stalked so I helped stop her stalker too. It was pretty calm. Glad it wasn't too crazy."

"Good." Steve smiled. "How about you get washed up? We'll have dinner in a little bit. I think Tony's finally got the bread where we need it."

"Cool, how long do I have?"

"About a half-hour." Steve shrugged and let go of Tony.

"Alright, I'll be back." Peter saluted them and headed to his room.

Tony sighed in relief. "At least he kept it easy."

"Like you didn't know that." Steve snorted. "I know you had JARVIS watching his every move."

"Well, duh. He thinks he's alone with Karen, but there's no way I'm taking JARVIS out of that suit. The kid's on training wheels." Tony snorted. "But I'm still glad he took it easy."

Steve had to agree, but he knew it wouldn't always be that way. Peter was a stubborn kid with a very strong sense of justice, lots of selflessness, a strong moral compass, and an uncanny ability to find trouble. Steve had no doubt that the kid would stick his nose into places it shouldn't be. But for now, the kid was probably a bit nervous so they'd at least have a little while before he started trying to do anything too adventurous. "He's a good kid."

"OUR good kid. But, really, we're still on for tonight, right?"

Steve threw his head back and laughed from the belly. "Yup. Totally. But you'd better be ready for a real workout."

"For you, Mr., always."

"Sir, I hate to interrupt. But I believe I've just found indication that Mr. Stane will be selling weapons tomorrow."

"Don't be a party pooper, J. Send me the details in the morning. I've got special alone time planned with my honey and dinner to have with my family."

"Yes, you do." Steve grinned. "Come on, Mr. Stark, time to finish up dinner."


	2. Blind Sided

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one kicked off a little faster than anticipated. Sorry all. Lots of stuff that's going to happen here.  
> There are some food issues in this, Peter still is dealing with his trauma, as you all know. Sorry about the incoming angst.

The next day at class, Peter stretched, like he was supposed to, but while it felt nice, he didn't really need it, not like the other's did. He was super flexible now. They were starting with barre, which wasn't Peter's favorite. But he was going to get to work on the routine with his partner Isabelle soon. Except... He looked around the small classroom as warm-ups began, but Isabelle wasn't around.

That was weird. She was always at practice. They'd been working on this for a month. The performance was in two weeks. Peter was hoping to get this down, it would be the first one his parents could see. And he'd picked the song for them. Isabelle had let him take control over their project. He'd said he wanted to tell a sad story with a happy ending, she'd suggested songs and let him pace it once Peter'd talked about his story. He hadn't told her all the details, only that it was sort of a love story to both the family he'd lost and his found family. She'd picked the song Ashes and they were really starting to come up with something.

But really, she wasn't normally late. He considered stepping away from the routine to grab his phone out of his bag. Then the doors opened. And Isabelle was on crutches...looking really guilty.

"Lizzy?" Peter stopped everything he was doing to go help her to the bench. "Oh my gosh, are you okay?"

"I thought... you might be mad."

"Mad? No, I'm just worried. Are you okay?"

"Stupidest thing ever... I was going down the stairs and Fat Mack jumped in front of me and I fell." Peter'd heard lots of stories about her overweight housecat being an adorable menace, but this time it obviously wasn't funny. "It was all funny until I couldn't stand up." She frowned. "I'm not supposed to put weight on it for a while."

"It's okay. Don't worry about it."

"But this dance is really important to you."

"Hey, it's fine." Peter assured her. She tended to be hard on herself. They weren't in 'professional' ballet classes. They were more in the 'advanced recreational' classes. It wasn't like it was a dance or get kicked to the curb situation. They were just there to have fun. "Don't worry. You need to get better, so no stress on that, okay?"

"I'm still sorry. You're really talented and you should've gotten to show this dance off. Maybe at the next performance, in June? I should be okay then."

"Don't worry at all. Now, June, July...who cares? As long as you feel better."

"Thanks... Or..." Isabelle turned and tilted her head. "You could ask Maggie."

"Maggie?" Peter turned and looked at the young woman in the back row. In spite of how she hid in the back, Maggie danced like a front-row student, like a pro. "She's doing a solo dance though."

"Yeah, but she's really good. Last year for my spring performance, my partner moved and she learned the dance in like three days to perform with me. It's a little weird...with the gloves. So the grip is a bit weird, but she's really cool to work with. She introduced you here too, so you know her right?"

"I sort of know her." Peter didn't know much about her at all. Except that apparently she'd been adopted by Deadpool and she spent her free time working in a food pantry giving food to the homeless. And Peter was pretty sure she had some sort of superpower, but he wasn't certain as to what it was. "But seriously, it's no big deal. We can do it in the summer performance. You and I worked really hard on this."

"Yeah...but I want you to be able to do it. Just go ask."

"Lizzy..." Peter sighed.

"Now. It would make me feel better. Or are you going to make ME hobble over there to ask?"

"That's low, Lizzy."

"But you'll go now." She grinned.

"Fine." Peter trusted Lizzy though. He liked dancing with her. He'd never danced with Maggie, even though he could tell she was good...he just hadn't built that trust. As a person he trusted her. She was the only person in the dance studio who knew he'd been homeless. She knew he was adopted by Tony and Steve and no one knew that. She kept her mouth shut. But dancing trust was different.

"Go, go, go."

Peter rolled his eyes and headed over to Maggie, who was slowly moving into a needle stretch. Her eyes were closed lightly.

"Hello, Peter. How's Isabelle doing?" She asked without opening her eyes.

"Um, she seems in good spirits. How did you know it was me?"

"I drink orange juice and I know things. I'm a gangster like that." She snorted and opened her eyes. "Needing a partner?"

"How did you know?"

"She texted me and asked me last night if I'd dance with you. Something about you being too shy or polite to ask yourself."

"She did not!" Peter glared over his shoulder at Lizzy, who shrugged and waved with a smirk. 

Maggie chuckled. "I'm in, if you want. I've got my solo pretty well mastered at this point. Hehe...pointe." She giggled.

Peter laughed with her. "You don't have to."

"Eh." She slowly lowered her leg. "Two weeks is more time than I usually get to learn stuff. I'm totally cool with helping. You shouldn't miss your first performance, you know? You two had room 142 for practices, right?"

"Yeah."

"Cool. I'll meet you after stretches. We'll figure this thing out."

"Awesome...and thanks."

"You're welcome, Peter."

-

Steve wrung his hands, his head down. The phone in his pocket felt heavy. He should call Peter. But he couldn't just yet. "JARVIS, when Peter's out of dance tell him to come straight home."

"Yes, Captain." JARVIS responded.

The door opened. Steve's head shot up and he looked at Dr. Cho.

"I'm getting real tired of your family showing up here, Captain." She said flatly. "We're about to start working. I think he'll be fine. Broken arm, likely a few stitches are needed, probably a concussion, a few possibly fractured ribs. What the excuse this time? Another 'lab accident?' Because it's looking like this 'accident' was a really big guy hitting him really hard."

Steve swallowed.

"I'm not stupid." Helen shook her head. "Don't worry, I'll go fix the 'super villain' and keep my mouth shut." She whispered. "He'll be fine." She walked into the OR.

Steve huffed out a breath.

"Captain, Peter is on his way."

-

After practice, Peter went to go patrolling, but when he put on the mask, Karen greeted him.

"Hello, Peter. Captain Rogers has requested that you go straight home today."

"Okay... Is something wrong?"

Karen's silence was not reassuring. "I believe he simply wants you home safe right now. You can ask him when you get there."

"Got it." Peter pulled his backpack on and made his way to the tower as quickly as he could, which was easy. The dance school he went to was closer to the tower than school was. He knocked on the window to the apartment and JARVIS opened it, after (Peter assumed) talking to Karen. He made it inside and dropped from the ceiling, looking around. The room was empty. "Papa?" He pulled his mask off. "Hey, you home?"

Nothing.

"JARVIS, what's going on?" Peter asked as he got changed from his suit back into his loose work-out clothes.

"Captain Rogers is in the medbay and would like to see you."

"The medbay. Is he hurt?" Peter choked out. His heart felt like it was in his throat.

"Captain Rogers wanted me to inform you that you don't need to panic. Sir is going to be okay. But there was an incident."

"Dad's hurt?" Peter's chest ached.

"Sir is currently being treated for broken bones and a concussion. He also needed ten stitches, but he appears to be doing alright, all things considered."

Peter rushed to the elevator. "Take me down."

"Of course, Peter." JARVIS answered. "Deep breaths, Peter. You seem to be under duress."

Peter took a few conscious gulps of air. "Thanks."

"Sir is going to be fine." JARVIS said as soothingly as an AI could. "He's in stable condition. Captain Rogers simply didn't want you out and about...it seems he too is under some stress. Just keep breathing, Peter. Everything's fine."

Peter was pretty sure JARVIS had programs in them to help Peter whenever he got anxious, because if he ever started breathing too weird, he'd start talking to him, calming him down until someone human could get to him. "Thanks JARVIS."

"Of course, Peter." The doors opened and Peter quickly made his way to Steve.

"Papa?"

"Hey, bud." Steve pulled him into a hug and he didn't look great. He looked frazzled, worried as he sat outside of the operating room.

"Is dad okay?"

"He um...he was going to stop a weapons transfer and something big hit him from his blind side. He didn't see it coming."

"I'm currently running through the files to find the culprit." JARVIS informed them.

"Um. He fractured a couple ribs and both bones in his left forearm. He should be just fine. JARVIS flew him home. He passed out when he hit his head. They're pretty sure it's a concussion. Cho stepped out a few minutes ago and said he was doing okay."

"Why didn't you call me?" Peter asked with wide eyes.

"Kid, he just got here. You only had about ten minutes of class left when I found out so...I figured I'd just let you finish it up... Was it good?"

"Isabelle can't dance with me in the performance... She hurt her leg. But Maggie said she'd fill in. We practiced for the first time today. She's really talented and catching on quick so...maybe I'll still get to participate." Peter reported, hoping it would bring some sort of light to Steve.

"I'm glad you'll still get to dance. Tony and I are super excited to see it, bud." Steve smiled gently and ruffled his hair. He took a deep breath and then sighed.

Peter hugged him again. "He's gonna be okay." Peter winced at an awful sound that came from the OR. His nose wrinkled. He hated hospitals.

"I know. Hell, I've seen him worse off before. I just hate it every time... I'm sure he doesn't like it all that much when I'm hurt either." Steve shook his head. Then he seemed to notice the discomfort in Peter. "You've got to be starving, Pete. What with dance and swinging over here. How about you go upstairs and get something to eat?"

"Do you want me to bring you something?" Peter asked.

"Sure...nothing too big. Then we can babysit him, once their done in there, huh?" Steve smiled slightly.

"Yeah." Peter nodded. He could do that. He could help Steve by getting him some food. And he'd get to come back and look after Tony after the ugly stuff was done. He could hear and sense far too much. "Need anything else?"

"No, thanks Peter." He kissed his temple. "See you in a bit. Actually...I'll have JARVIS tell you when he's in a normal room, okay?"

"You sure you're okay down here alone?"

"Yeah, I got this. I know you don't like it down here, plus he'll be out for a bit." He ruffled Peter's hair. "We may not have leftovers in our fridge, but you can check out the common floor, there's some food leftover there from movie night."

"Okay." Peter hugged Steve one more time before he made his escape. Hopefully when he came back down he wouldn't hear the whirring of machines or the moving of bones or...any of that. He shivered as he got onto the elevator.

"The Avenger's floor, Peter?" JARVIS asked.

"Yes, please."

Peter looked around in the common kitchen and, though he found leftovers he didn't feel like eating that. Pasta seemed too heavy. He looked in the pantry and found a box of fudge pop tarts, so he grabbed the box and took the last two packages, popping them into the toaster before going to get a drink. He downed a glass of orange juice before he refilled his cup and took his newly warmed pop tarts to the table on a plate.

Nat walked into the room, rubbing her hair dry with a towel. "Hey, Pete. How was dance? Dance was today, right?" She asked, getting into the fridge and pulling out a cup of pudding.

"It was alright."

"Then why do you look so upset, ребенок паук?" She asked sitting across from him.

Peter couldn't tell her. She didn't know that Tony was Iron Man.

"Sir was in a lab accident today." JARVIS cut in with the cover story. "Sir broke a few bones and is suffering from a concussion. He is currently being treated."

"Jesus. Is he alright?" Nat asked worriedly. "Is his heart holding up?"

"Sir is doing very well. They're setting his arm, currently. I am overseeing. If there are any updates, I'll share them." JARVIS responded.

"I'm sorry, kid. How are you holding up?"

"Just want him to be better, you know?" Peter shrugged.

"Yeah." Nat nodded. "I'll make sure to check on you three later."

"Thanks, Nat."

"Anything I can get for you?"

"Nah. I just don't want to be downstairs right now while they're...you know." He gestured to his ears.

Nat grimaced. "That's gotta suck."

"I hate hospitals, medbays...basically anywhere they practice medicine." He frowned. He could hear all sorts of unnatural things in hospitals...like bones being moved or cut into or how flesh sounds when it's being stitched or sliced. Peter hated all of it. Plus, the smell was awful.

"Well, Tony's a tough guy, I'm sure he'll wake up and be his usual snarky self." Nat gave him a warm smile.

"Thank you."

Thor walked through the kitchen. "Hello, Natasha, Peter." He waved idly, but looked intent on getting to the pantry.

"It'll be fine." Nat continued on.

"Dammit!"

Peter jumped at the sharp sound from the pantry.

"Who's eaten the last of my pop tarts?!" Thor sounded actually angry.

Peter grabbed his plate and jumped. He had to hide. He'd stolen food from Thor. Thor would be pissed. The usually mild-mannered god of thunder hadn't ever been mean to Peter, but what if he was? What if he hurt Peter for taking the pop tarts? Peter was strong, but he was pretty sure he wasn't Thor strong. He'd be dead, all over pop tarts. 

"Their screams will echo in Valhalla!"

That didn't sound good. Peter was suck to the ceiling, upside-down, shaking, terrified. He'd become too used to it, too used to Tony and Steve letting him eat whatever he wanted. He should have thought twice. He shouldn't have taken food without asking. He couldn't breathe, he felt tears in his eyes. Not everyone was like Steve and Tony, were they? No. Peter knew the hard way that some people were the opposite of Steve and Tony.

"Thor, shut the fuck up, or so help me I'll pull your hair out." Nat snapped, standing up from the table and looking up at Peter.

"What? I really like those things." Thor grumbled as he stepped out of the pantry. "Why is the young Peter on the ceiling? How is the young Peter on the ceiling?"

"Just shush." Nat huffed before hopping up onto the table. "Hey there, ребенок паук, no one's mad at you. I need you to breathe okay? Thor's just being a big idiot."

"I'm not an idiot." Thor defended himself.

"I was going to call you a dumbass, idiot was putting it mildly." Nat rolled her eyes. "Hey, bud. Want to come down here? I promise you're not in trouble."

"Oh, I get it. Is Peter that Spider...guy I've heard of in New York. Are you two related? You are both spiders after all, right?" Thor asked.

"No. And shut up!" Nat huffed.

Thor didn't listen. "Why's the baby elephant so upset?" Once Clint had started to call Peter 'baby elephant' the nickname had spread. Though, Thor had to be taught what the phrase 'elephant in the room' meant before he understood it.

"Because you were screaming about the damn pop tarts and he's the one who's eating them."

"I don't understand why he's on the ceiling. Surly he knows I jest."

"No, he doesn't." Nat sighed. She kept her face on Peter, but softened her voice toward Thor. "Peter was in the foster system and homeless before Steve and Tony adopted him."

"Of course. It was explained to me." Thor nodded. "I do not understand the relevance."

"Yeah, well, his last foster parents starved him, they didn't allow him to eat. And then he was homeless and didn't have enough. So you threatening him for eating food hits home for him."

Thor slouched, looking struck. "My jest was taken seriously? I'm so sorry, worthy Peter. Please don't be afraid. Come down from the ceiling. You can always have some pop tarts. In fact, we can share pop tarts. You are worthy, after all."

"I could use a broom or something." Nat frowned, wondering if she could get Peter down with a broom. He really seemed to need someone to hold him and calm him down.

Thor didn't think of a broom, obviously, because he jumped up and pulled Peter down. A ceiling tile came down with them, still stuck to Peter's legs. Peter, somehow, managed to right himself and not drop his plate or the pop tarts before he landed on his feet. He instantly backed into a corner, breathing hard.

Nat walked up to him and pulled him into a hug, whispering reassuringly. "It's okay, Peter. You're safe. You're at the tower with Nat and the most idiotic excuse for a god of thunder ever."

"I'm sorry Peter. You may have ALL the pop tarts if you wish." Thor repented. "I shall acquire a large supply, a feast for you if you wish. How many flavors do they have? I shall acquire ALL of them."

It took a few moments, but Peter found his breath. "S-sorry."

"It's okay." Nat promised. "You can finish the food, okay?"

Peter nodded slowly and let her guide him to the table.

Thor put a heavy hand on Peter's shoulder. "I'm sorry, young Peter. I didn't know or understand. Captain Rogers has always told me not to bother you about food, but I didn't realize... I'm sorry, Peter. I do not understand this feeling that you do. I don't know hunger as you do, I am sorry for my ignorance."

"It's okay."

"No it's not, worthy Peter. And you are a spider child as well. You are full of surprises." He grinned. "I knew you were a strong one."

"About that. No one can know he's Spiderman. You, me, Tony, and Steve are the only ones who know. So keep your mouth shut, won't you?" Nat asked in a deadpan voice.

"Of course."

Peter finished his food quietly then got up, gathering some for Steve. "Um, well...I'll be going."

"I'll check in in a bit, Peter. Let me know if you guys need anything." Nat nodded seriously. 

"Thanks."

-

Tony woke up slowly. The lights were too damn bright. He closed his eyes and took a few breaths. He could feel a hand in his, he recognized the hand as Steve's. He shifted the hand and found out that there was a cast on his left arm. Instead he twitched those fingers tighter in Steve's. There was a weight pressing down on the bed near his leg. He slowly opened his eyes and saw Peter, sleeping with his head pressed to he bed. It couldn't be comfortable for him to be hunched over like that, but then again Peter slept on the ceiling sometimes.

"Hey." Steve greeted gently.

"What hit me?" Tony asked groggily. He reached his right hand down and ruffled Peter's hair gently.

"Working on that, sir." JARVIS answered.

"You two been here for how long?" Tony asked.

"'Bout five hours."

Tony gently played with Peter's hair. "I'm sorry. I really didn't see it coming. I'm always careful, but it just happened."

"It's okay. God knows I've ended up in this bed more than you have. I know you're being careful." Steve whispered.

"I don't mean to worry you. How bad was the damage? My head feels fuzzy. It hurts to breathe."

"Concussion, some stitches, a few hairline fractures on two ribs, and a broken arm." 

"Fucking left arm...every time." Tony huffed.

Steve squeezed his hand. "It's going to be some down time for a bit."

Tony closed his eyes.

"Dad?" Peter asked in a sleepy voice.

"Hey, kiddo."

Peter sat up and stretched with a smile. "Hey! You feeling alright?"

"Yeah. A little tired, but I'm good." Tony smiled. "Isn't it a school night for you, punk?"

"Yeah."

"Then you should be getting some sleep."

Peter rolled his eyes. "Wasn't going to leave you."

"I know you don't like this place, kid. How about you head on up to bed, get some rest. I'm okay, promise." Tony smiled and reached out, ruffling his hair again. "Thanks for sticking with me, kid."

"Always." Peter promised, but didn't move to get up.

"Come on, kid, I know you aren't comfortable here."

"I don't wanna leave you." Peter shook his head.

Tony smiled and waved his right hand. "Come here, Pete." Peter came closer and he kissed the teen on his forehead. "It's alright and I'm okay." 

Peter still looked worried.

"You're not going anywhere, are you, kid?"

Peter shook his head.

"Come here, underoos." It took a moment, but Peter settled into the hospital bed on his right side, where he hadn't been injured. Tony tucked him under his arm and pulled him closer. "I'm alright, promise."

"I don't like it when people get hurt."

"I know, but I'm okay, promise." Tony said, leaning his head against Peter's. Then he looked over at Steve. "I'd let you join in, but this bed wasn't built for one, let alone three. Peter doesn't really count because he's a tiny fluffball."

Steve snorted and shook his head. "I'd probably hurt your ribs. You boys get some rest, I'm here to look after you."

"Thanks, honey."

"Get some rest, both of you."

"Okay." Tony went to sleep.

-

"Dammit!" Stane snapped, tossing his helmet across the room.

"S-sir?"

"I need more power. He's too damn fast. I need to be faster too." Stane turned and looked from his suit to the one Tony'd made in the desert. He needed more power. Something like what Tony had.

-

JARVIS worked to find more, but all he had were three images, a sound clip, and a very brief proximity alert. One even Tony couldn't have reacted to fast enough. The three tiny shreds of evidence added up to one very upsetting fact. There was a sort of suit out there, one larger than Tony's. It didn't seem to have the same power levels judging by the sound of the thrusters but...it was strong, strong enough to put up a fight against Tony's.

Sir wasn't going to like that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Take care.


	3. Everything's Not Awesome

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I almost titled this chapter 'Dun Dun Duuuuuuunnnnnnn!' but then I didn't. Haha

Tony looked down at his calculations and sighed. He couldn't tell Peter this. Not until this was all just a memory, but the kid, his son, had likely saved his life. Without the upgrades and the reinforced chest plate they'd worked on together after Christmas...Tony was pretty sure there would have been more than hairline fractures. In fact, he was pretty sure broken ribs would have been the least of his worries.

"Hey." Steve walked in, carrying a steaming mug.

"Ooh, coffee. You're the best." Tony grabbed it with his right hand and took a sip. "That's not coffee."

"It's tea. You need to relax, not to get riled up."

"I NEED to figure out what hit me and exactly how much fire power I'm up against."

Steve looked down at the long line of calculations. "Looks like you've put in quite a bit of work. Time to rest for a little while. You can get back to it after a break."

"I don't want a break."

"You hit your head, Tony. Just rest for a little bit. The problem will still be there in an hour. A bit of tea and a nap won't hurt."

Tony frowned.

"If not for you, for me?" Steve asked.

"That's cheating."

"I'll even snuggle."

"That's definitely unfair." Tony sighed, but took a sip of the tea. "Okay, one hour."

-

Peter did another sit-up as Ned held his feet. "Dude are you still doing the internship? Like, for real?" Ned asked.

"What? Yeah, of course. I've even gotten to work with Dr. Banner."

"No shitting?" Ned asked with huge eyes. "Awesome! So...how's your family been? I saw online that your dad broke his arm in an accident. Is he alright?"

Peter frowned, wishing he could REALLY talk to his friend. "He's okay, a bit banged up is all." Peter's jaw tightened and he did his sit-ups a little faster. He couldn't stand Mr. Stane. He'd give him a visit as Spiderman if Tony AND Steve hadn't expressly forbidden it.

"Well, let your dad know I hope he feels better soon." Ned said. "Bro, you sure you aren't tired?"

"Huh?" Peter asked, continuing his sit-ups.

"Dude, getting back into dance must be doing you good. Usually you'd be struggling breathing by now, and you haven't even broken a sweat." Ned observed.

Shit! Peter thought. He slowed down his workout. "Um, yeah. Dance has been great. It's always helped with the asthma. So it's been nice. Plus, Papa's been teaching me to fight, that's been exercise. Helps my lungs a lot." Peter said.

"Dude, that's sweet. Your parents are awesome." Ned grinned.

Peter lay flat on the gym floor, feigning tiredness. "Yeah, they're pretty cool."

"Still pretending that people give a damn about you, Penis?" Flash called as he walked back from the drinking fountain.

"Shut up, Flash." Peter rolled his eyes.

"What'd you say, Parker? Gonna talk some more about your fake family? You live out on the streets yet?"

Peter slammed his hands down, probably too hard for a human. Then he jumped to his feet. "Shut up about my family."

"You're delusional."

Peter considered throwing a punch. The bell rang. He let out a breath. He must've been really stressed out to almost punch Flash at some lighter-than-normal bullying. "See ya." Peter turned and held a hand out to Ned to help him up. "Time to go."

"Sure." Ned nodded. "You've got the thing tonight, right?"

Peter smiled. He got to do his internship today. "Yeah. Should be fun."

"You just gonna walk away from me?" Flash demanded.

"Yup! Later. School day's out. I don't need to deal with this shit anymore." Peter waved and headed out with Ned. They chit-chatted until they were out in front of the school. "Oh, Happy's here. See you later?"

"See you, my dude." Ned waved.

-

Peter got into the elevator and headed up to the lab. On internship days Peter spent some time in the lower labs, but most of it in Tony's lab. They had to keep up appearances, after all. The SI employees knew about the contest, so it was expected that a teen show up to help every now and then. Peter'd even made a few friends. He didn't mind working in the lower labs. He preferred working with Tony, but since he was on bedrest, it really was for the better that Peter spend time in the lower labs, instead of being upstairs encouraging Tony to be on his feet when he should be resting. The doors opened up to one of the lower labs and Peter stepped in. "Hey, what're we doing...today?" Peter froze as his spidersense went off like crazy.

He'd never seen Mr. Stane in person until that moment, but he'd seen the papers. He knew what the monster looked like.

"Oh, hey Peter! So glad you aren't being hogged upstairs today." Tracy walked forward and grinned. "How are you feeling about working on your project a bit more? Or do you wanna learn a bit more about coding today?" Tracy's job was to work on the new prosthetics. She was really good at it and Peter would love for Ned to learn from her, because she was brilliant with a computer and she and Ned would nerd out together. But Peter couldn't really think about her work no matter how cool it was...not with Stane in the room.

"I'm..." Peter paused.

Mr. Stane walked right up to him. "Who let you into the building? This lab isn't part of the school tours."

"Oh, sorry, sir. This is Peter Parker. He won the competition for the internship program. He's a brilliant kid." Tracy grinned. "He helps out around here sometimes. Has a badge and everything." She pointed to the collar of Peter's shirt.

Stane grabbed the badge (it took all of Peter's strength to not yank away from the sudden assult on his personal space) and looked at it. "This has access to the higher level labs. This is an Alpha badge. How'd you get THAT?"

Tracy, as usual, was a chatter box. "Oh, he's Mr. Stark's personal intern. I believe it was Miss Potts' idea." Tracy grinned. "And, you know, Mr. Stane, you should pick his brain for that problem you were asking about. He's the one working on that project I was talking to you about, actually, it's HIS project, entirely his brainchild."

"Ask me about what?" Peter asked, finding his voice.

"Mr. Stane here was just asking about power output. You've been working on a clean high-output power, Peter, you could totally help. The kid's a genius, sir. We call him Mini-Stark behind his back." Tracy giggled. "His prototype for the contest could power this whole lab for a day and he used dumpster dive tech to do it. And his work just keeps getting better. Mr. Stark thinks Peter here's going to make the next big break in clean energy. Peter's awesome, but we don't usually get to see him. Mr. Stark hogs him for the big-league stuff upstairs."

Peter knew she was bragging him up to try to be nice, but he really wished that she'd shut up. His spidersense was growing more and more crazy with each word she spoke. He could almost feel the evil, calculating gears in Stane's head turning.

"Does he now...? You made that much power with trashed parts? Makes me wonder what you could do with better equipment." Mr. Stane leered at him.

Peter's spidersense cranked up to eleven and he stood up a little straighter. 

"Well," Stane smiled as he put Peter's badge back on his shirt. "I WILL have to pick your brain sometime. Unfortunately, I'm due elsewhere for a meeting. Next time, Mr. Parker, wasn't it?" He gripped Peter's shoulder a little too tight before he walked out of the lab.

"You okay, Peter? You look a little pale."

"Um...I just feel a little ill."

"Oh, then you should go home, hun. It's alright. You won't get in trouble for taking a sick day, Peter." Tracy promised.

"Yeah...um, I think I'll head home."

"Get better, Peter. See you next week, okay?"

Peter nodded and headed to the elevator.

-

Steve looked at the sweater and shook his head. Tony'd been looking for his MIT sweater and...of course, it was in one of Peter's 'nests' as Steve liked to call them. He was glad the kid was getting more comfortable in the house, but it was a little weird to find stuff crammed in weird places. Steve found his build-a-bear Captain America plushie (given to him by Tony) up on top of the fridge because Peter used it as a pillow. Really, it was harmless. The kid slept in weird places and, as JARVIS had pointed out, slept walk. Peter'd go to sleep in his room and sometimes wake up on the living room ceiling. Steve found it endearing. He'd also found some of his and Tony's things going missing a few months after adopting the kid. Steve didn't know if Peter realized he'd taken them or if he'd just took them while he slept. It was kinda cute...but strange, finding stuff all over the penthouse.

The elevator doors opened and Steve frowned, looking up. Peter closed his eyes and leaned against the wall, looking a little pale. "Hey, bud. I thought you had the internship today." Steve's forehead crinkled. "Are you okay?"

Peter shook his head. "Where's dad?"

"Resting. What happened? You look pale."

"Ran into Mr. Stane."

Steve's blood ran cold. "What?"

"I need to talk to dad." Peter stated. "Is he awake?"

"Probably. Come on." Steve nodded, leading Peter to his and Tony's bedroom. He knocked on the door and headed in once Tony responded.

Tony, of course, was sitting up in the bed, looking at the video from the attack. He seemed to be doing his own math, figuring out by hand exactly how much damage the opposing suit could do. "Kid, weren't you working with Tracy today?"

"Nope. I told her I wasn't feeling well."

"Why? What's going on?" Tony sat up a little straighter. "You do look a bit pale."

"I ran into Mr. Stane." Peter stated.

Tony's jaw tightened. "What happened?"

"Mr. Stane was talking to Tracy when I walked in. He must be looking for a power source of some kind. Because Tracy wouldn't shut up about me. She started talking about the power source I'm working on. He seemed interested."

"Interested how?" Tony asked.

"Well, my spidersense went crazy, if that's what you're asking. I really didn't like him." Peter folded his arms over his chest.

Tony ran his right hand through his hair and huffed. "This is...not ideal."

"He wouldn't...go after Peter, right?" Steve asked, though he didn't sound too sure.

"Well, up until today, the only way Stane could reliably power his suit for long periods of time was to either make his own mini arc-reactor or steal one of mine..."

Peter shook his head. "It's still his only options. I mean, come on, I couldn't run your suit with my thing... Could I?" Peter asked. Then began to run the math in his head. "No. I couldn't. The suit wouldn't run for very long, not on what I made."

"Think fast." Tony said.

He didn't need to say it. Peter caught the notepad Tony threw at him with ease. 

"I ran the numbers. What Stane and his little scientists came up with, given the approximate size of the suit and the sound of the thrusters as well as joint movement..." Tony didn't have to keep going. He could tell it was going over Steve's head, but Peter was obviously taking in the numbers, the logic.

"If these numbers are right-"

"IF?" Tony asked.

"You have limited data. The numbers are correct, but they might not be right, given all possible variables." Peter corrected. He trusted Tony's work, because who wouldn't, but even a genius couldn't be 100% correct without all the data. "If these numbers are right. His power source can't sustain that size of a suit for more than two hours, without suffering malfunctions or possible failings..."

"And your source?" Tony asked.

"I could almost triple that time with household parts... Shit. He mentioned something about what I might be capable of with better equipment." 

"JARVIS, Peter's information is buried in the system, yes?" Tony asked, his tone very serious.

"Yes, sir. However, the problem arises that Miss McKay mentioned Peter's name. There are seven other Peter Parker's in New York at Peter's age, and it'd be easy for even Mr. Stane to locate Peter at school."

"Thanks for being ahead of me, JARVIS." Tony sighed. "Dammit, we just got you settled back in too. I wanted things to get more normal not more crazy."

"I'm not leaving school. There isn't much left, anyway. I'm not going to just hide. It's the same risk no matter what, I might as well go to school." Peter protested. As much as Stane made him uneasy, Peter wasn't going to give up his life over it. He just got his life back.

"He could go after you!" Tony protested.

Peter snorted. "Yeah. He's gonna storm a high school in an iron suit. That'd be the swiftest way to bring the Avengers down on his ass. He won't do that. Even he'd know that's stupid."

"And dance?" Tony asked. "And when you're out with your friends or in the labs downstairs? No. Lockdown. He's not going to have ANY access to you."

Steve raised his hand. "Actually, I agree with Peter on this one. Strategically it'd be idiotic to snatch a kid from school. Tony Stark would notice if his intern suddenly went missing and Stane would know that. Stane has a tendency to think these things through. I mean...consider your own kidnapping, Tony. If you hadn't survived it, no one would have known his fingers were on that. He made sure it was subtle. He wouldn't make that big a mistake like that."

"What would you do? Oh strategic one?" Tony demanded.

"If Peter works here then his plans are probably accessible in the system." Steve shrugged. "I mean, I'm not good with tech, but Stane would be able to find it. That or he'd send goons, something more subtle than a suit. If you hide Peter then you're giving up a little advantage, plus if you hide him it could just show Stane that he's more than an intern, which would paint a bigger target on Peter's back." Steve had a thoughtful look on his face. "If I were Stane, I'd use my position as an advantage. To him Stark Tower is home base. Why risk being caught snatching a kid in broad daylight if you can use goons to get him in the tower or just steal the information from the database?"

"And I'm Spiderman so...taking down a couple goons isn't an abnormal thing."

"Yeah, Stane runs with a crowd different from the thugs in Queens, Peter. This isn't petty thieves we're talking about. He works with people that..." Tony winced and shivered, his eyes haunted. "They're terrorists, Peter. They wouldn't stop just because you're a kid." Tony bit his lip and took a breath. "Look the last thing I wanted was for him to know anything about you!"

"Look, I'll be careful, but there's like, no time left in school. I want to finish my classes, and dance is really important to me."

"So's your life. It's my job to protect you." Tony frowned. "If you get hurt, that's all on me. You understand that, right?"

Peter frowned. "I can't hide, Dad. He knows my name, he'll probably look after me, might even stalk me a little bit. It's for the best that I don't act weird or threatened."

"I'm gonna stop you right there. It sounds like you're almost offering yourself up as bait." Tony narrowed his eyes.

Peter shook his head. "No. I'm just not going to hide in a corner in fear. I can stop busses with my hands. I can lift buildings off of me. I can fight. But to the world, I'm a scrawny nerd. There isn't anything good that comes from panicking and if I go and hide he's going to know something's up and he'll really come after me then. I lose nothing if I act normal. He has the ability to find me anywhere I go. Hell, he works a couple stories below my bedroom, so if I hide here he has just as much chance of finding me as he does bursting into school. Just...let me live like normal. If he or any baddies come anywhere near me I'll notice. I get a sort of feel for these things." Peter tapped the back of his neck.

"Steve, tell him he's an idiot."

Steve didn't say anything.

"Steve?!"

"Peter's not wrong. I'd agree with him. Hiding him runs the risk of painting a bigger target on his back. Letting him live normally is more appropriate at this time."

"STEVE!" Tony shouted.

"Hear me out, Tony. I don't like this situation any more than you do. Peter's on Stane's radar, that's bad. I think we all agree on that point. This isn't a debate about how much trouble we're in, we all know this situation isn't ideal." Steve said, his hands raised. "Peter's been through a shit ton. He should be able to keep his normalcy, especially since we don't know what Stane might do. Peter does have an element of surprise here, plus it isn't exactly feasible to snatch a kid from school, especially one with super powers. Plus, Peter's never really anywhere alone for long. School is only a couple more weeks. I bet that Stane will go for the plans first before trying to do anything to Peter. He might even just ASK Peter for help, people like Stane underestimate people like Peter."

"What do I do if he asks me how I did it?" Peter wondered.

"Same thing we told you to do if there's a hostage situation." Steve nodded. "Comply, don't kick up a fuss, and don't dig yourself into more trouble. Find an escape route if it's safe to, don't be a hero." It hadn't been a pleasant conversation, but they'd all had it as a family. As a superhero, kidnapping was already plausible. As the adopted son of Captain America and Tony Stark, Peter'd have a huge target on his back once the news got out. They'd talked about possible ransom situations...among other things.

Tony closed his eyes. "I don't like this."

"It's no more danger than I'd normally be in. Plus, if you add in combat to the energy equation, my prototype wouldn't be enough. Even if he tries the plans I put on file... it wouldn't be enough if he wanted to sustain combat and backup systems safely." Peter said. "He may just try to make something based off of my idea. He may not even need me. And he is an asshole, he might just ask and expect me to do whatever he wants, same as how he treats and uses everyone else."

"It would be logical." Steve sighed. "But, I have an idea to smooth this over."

"And that is?" Tony asked.

"Nat." Steve shrugged. "Or maybe even a member of SHIELD. If we have someone watching Peter's school and dance classes, we don't have to worry about anything outside of Stark Tower. All we have to do is keep him safe here. It's not like anyone knows he's Spiderman, so let him go out and be Spiderman. But if we have someone who can blend in, disappear to just keep an eye out for him outside the house, he'll be safe."

Peter nodded. "I like this idea. Then I can stay in school. I just want to finish school this year. I've already missed so much. And if you try to hide me he'll only try to come after me more, right?"

Steve hummed in affirmation. "I say we play it calm, but safe. I can call Nat, maybe even Hill."

"No, not Maria, because then Peter'd be our kid in SHIELD files. I can't trust them with that information, their security is shit. And I'm not sure Mr. Pirate would be trustable with a teenaged superhero. I don't need him trying to recruit our kid." Tony shook his head.

"Nat then. We can trust her. Even Clint. They both love Peter and they're trained for this. If anyone comes near Peter, they'd have the Avengers on them in seconds."

Tony took a deep breath. "I still don't like it. But you're probably right."

"I call Nat and Clint, ask them if they can keep an eye on him for a while." Steve nodded and turned to Peter. "You won't even notice they're there. Promise."

"That's until Clint climbs into the vents and starts whispering shit to me during class." Peter tried to lessen the tension.

It didn't work. No one laughed.

-

The man walked into Mr. Stane's office. "Mr. Stane, I'm a bit surprised you called me up here. What can I do for you?"

"I heard you had a project put on hold by Stark."

The man's jaw tightened. "Yes. The jester king, if I may call him that."

"I'm more than alright with that name." Stane smiled and stood up. "What if I said I had a practical use for your specific talents, one that would require your project? And it will offer you a chance to get back at Stark."

The man smiled. "I'd ask what you need from me?"

"There's an intern named Peter Parker. He's the personal intern of Stark. I need some information from him." Stane turned his computer around. "This is his partial plans for a power source. I need the full details and I need him to make it better, but it's not in the system, so I need it from the kid."

The man looked down at the screen and his eyes widened. "This is...impressive. How? What even? How did he make this work?"

"That's what I need you to figure out. Solve that question and you and I can both get rid of a thorn in our side. You can even get full funding for the rest of your project."

It was a generous offer. "Sounds like we're in business, Mr. Stane."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun, dun, duuuuuunnnnn!  
> Take care.


	4. Everyone is Stressed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you go. Hope everyone's doing well. My brain's being mean at the moment, but I'm still trucking along. Hopefully the updating won't be slowed too much.

Peter was Spiderman. He could tell he was being watched instantly. He turned and looked past Ned and then he paused. Nat was walking into the school. She looked like a teacher. Her signature red hair was dark brown and thrown up messily. She was wearing a pencil skirt and a sweater over a button up. She was wearing glasses. To anyone else, she would have looked completely ordinary. A teacher with a messenger bag and coffee. Peter though, knew that walk, and the smirk she shot at him was a dead giveaway.

"Who's that? A sub?" Ned wonder, tilting his head.

"That's my guess." Peter shrugged as Nat walked up to them.

"Hello, boys. Could you give me directions to room one-thirty-eight?" Her accent was perfect Queens, like she'd live there her whole life.

"Yeah," Ned nodded. "If you go through the main doors, take a left at the first hall. It's toward the end, before the stairs on the right."

Nat smiled. "Thanks. Have a good day you two." She waved and headed off.

"Subtle." Peter said in awe. If he hadn't seen her as much as he had, hadn't known how she walked, he'd have no clue who he'd been talking to. Even her eyes had been a different color, brown instead of her usual blue. 

"Huh?" Ned asked.

"Nothing. To class?"

"I don't really want to go, but I'm not brave enough to skip, so I guess we're stuck."

"Guess so." Peter agreed before they walked to the school together.

-

Smack.

"Sorry." Peter frowned when he collided with Maggie for the third time. "Timing's still a bit off." He grabbed ahold of her arms to keep her from tumbling over. She wasn't a slouch. She was well-built from dancing, but running into a super-human could throw anyone off balance.

"It's okay." She laughed. "At least you don't step on my toes. Been through that before." She jolted back suddenly.

Peter let go the instant he realized that his hands had found the small sliver of flesh between her gloves and sleeves. She, very obviously, didn't like to be touched, not skin-on-skin anyway. He tried to respect that. He hadn't meant to touch her skin. "Sorry."

"It's okay. It's not personal or anything. I know you won't hurt me and I know you're not...you know..."

Peter nodded. He had a sneaking suspicion that Maggie had a dark past, he wasn't going to take her need for personal space personally. He knew trauma and he knew it didn't always make sense. "We're getting there. Thanks again, by the way."

"Yeah. No problem." Maggie went to the corner of the room and picked up her water bottle, taking a swig. She looked completely relaxed as she sat down, a complete contrast to how she'd been when they'd touched. Somehow, she seemed completely fine with being alone in a room with an obviously stronger guy, but freaked out over touch. Again, Peter didn't judge it, but made note of it. She had mentioned something about being able to tell when danger was near. Maybe she had her own sort of spidersense. "So, how are you doing?"

"Me?"

"Well, Mr. Stark was on the news, had some broken bones? Isn't he like...your foster parent?" She whispered the last bit quietly.

Peter appreciated her delicacy. Even though they were isolated in their own practice room, she kept the information quiet. "Dad...actually. I'm...they adopted me."

She smiled a warm, happy thing. "Good. Are you upset about the accident? You seem a bit distracted today. Normally we don't smack heads together that often...or ever, for that matter."

"Just a little distracted."

Her eyes narrowed. "It wasn't a lab accident...was it?"

"What makes you ask that?" Peter asked. "It was a little explosion is all."

She shook her head. "I have a feeling something else is happening. I'm getting danger vibes."

"How does that even work?" Peter asked.

Maggie opened her mouth, then closed it. "It's hard to explain. It's like a spotlight shines on people. Red means danger. And I can find the source of said danger with a different shade of red. It's kinda like a thread attaches between the two things. Like, if I was about to punch you, you and I'd both look red with a sort of rope tied between us. The colors are different slightly from victim to perp...and the level of danger too...I can see that."

"That's got to be a lot to take in."

She nodded her head. "Even something as stupid as someone getting a papercut...I sort of get that feeling, that visual. It was a lot when I first started adjusting."

"Sorry."

"Don't be. My power has saved me and others a lot of trouble. I haven't been able to save everyone...but I've been able to help. I've seen pictures online and videos...that Stane guy, you might want to tell your dad that he's not a friend." She frowned. 

Wow. The girl really DID have a super power. Even at a distance she could tell who the real threat was. "I'll keep that in mind." Peter nodded.

"And keep an eye out for yourself. You ain't in mortal danger or anything...but there's something going on around you. Something I can't really put a finger on...I don't like it, usually I can see these things. But this is...almost like someone's covering my eyes. I don't know where the threat's coming from, but there's something going on around you."

Right again. Spidermanning must put that energy around him, plus whatever Stane had planned. Peter was pretty glad that it wasn't mortal danger, but why hadn't she said that about his dad too? Was Tony in some sort of mortal danger? Or did she just sense that Obie would kill Tony if he had the chance? He wished he could question her further on her powers.

She stood and stretched. "We got time for one more run through. Get your head in the game, Parker. Let's get it right this time. If you smack into me one more time, I'll step on your toes in retribution."

Peter smiled. "Consider me warned." He nodded. He shifted down to his place, head down. "Karen, hit play, from the top." He called, knowing his phone would listen. Karen was quickly becoming his best girl.

The song came on and Peter took a breath, he was going to do it right this time.

-

Wednesday was another internship day. Peter was a little nervous for it. Thankfully, even in the lower labs he'd made friends and he knew that if any of his friends decided to sell him out to Stane, his sense would warn him, but still, he didn't like feeling the need to look over his shoulder. Peter got onto the elevator. "Sixteen, JARVIS."

There was a strange, brief pause. "Yes, Mr. Parker."

Peter grinned and leaned against the wall. Even though he was the only one in the elevator, the lights hadn't dimmed, which was a little weird, but didn't bug him. "How are you doing, J?"

Another short pause. "Not sure how to answer that, Mr. Parker."

Peter snorted. "It's okay, even us humans rarely know how to answer that question. And remember, you can call me Peter. Mr. makes me feel weird."

"Of course, Peter." JARVIS answered with more of his usual promptness.

Was it just Peter or was the elevator ride a bit longer than normal? A slight tingle filled the back of his neck, but he shrugged as the elevator slowed. "Thanks, J. Talk to you later?"

"Yes, Peter." The doors opened.

Peter walked down the hallway and swiped his card at the lab doors. He looked around the room, taking in the faces. Some of the usuals were there. He waved to Tracy and smiled. There was a man Peter'd never seen working with some sort of holograph. He was tall, with blue eyes, dark hair, and beard. He smiled warmly at Peter. "Hey, you must be Mr. Parker." The man waved his hand and the holographs disappeared. "Tracy was babbling about you. You got the internship, huh?"

"Yeah. I did."

"Cool." He held out his hand. "I'm Quentin. I normally work a couple floors up, but came down to help Tracy out a bit with her coding. She's been going on about you, so I thought I'd say hi."

"Nice to meet you." Peter shook his hand. 

"I did not go on about you!" Tracy defended herself.

"Yes, you did, Trace." He rolled his eyes. "Well, good for you, kid. Getting a head start like this is really valuable. I hope we work on a project together sometime. Bet we could one-up Tracy on her coding."

"Could not!" Tracy retorted.

"It'd be a fun game though. Wouldn't it?" Quentin smiled warmly.

"Yeah, awesome." Peter nodded.

Quentin looked past Peter to the door. "Act busy, the boss is here." He joked with a smile before turning and opening his holographs again.

Peter felt a tingle up his neck and turned around. Tony walked into the lab and went right over to a desk, beginning to look through something. That wasn't right. Tony was supposed to be on bedrest. After breaking his arm and ribs he was ordered to rest. Steve would be irate if he knew Tony'd gone to work. Maybe Tony'd really taken this 'have to watch Peter's every move' thing too seriously. Peter sighed and walked up to Tony. Something seemed off. His senses were telling him that something was missing, that a detail wasn't right, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He was probably tired. His senses got weird sometimes. "Hey, Mr. Stark, what are you doing down here?"

"Checking the progress on the coding for the prosthetics." The hand that wasn't in the sling went to typing away. "What are you doing, kid?"

"Um, I was going to help Tracy today. I didn't think you'd be down here." Peter didn't need to be babysat in the tower. It irritated him. Nat already followed him to school. Clint had picked him up and driven him to dance and searched the place top to bottom. Happy barely let him get on the elevator in the tower alone. It had been two days of constant surveillance and it was getting a bit annoying. Peter knew he could take care of himself. Plus, he had Karen and JARVIS in the tower. If he got into anything he couldn't handle all he had to do was talk to one of them and the wrath of the Avengers would rain on his enemies.

"It's my tower. That's why the name's up there, kid."

Peter didn't like that answer. The babysitting was getting really old. So quickly. "Does Captain Rogers know you're down here?" Peter asked, putting his backpack down and heading to his station, just a few feet from Tony.

"It sounds like you've got something against me doing my job, Parker. Wanna try to explain that?"

Peter paused, a little taken aback. There was some actual aggression in Tony's tone. He'd never heard that from his Dad before, not directed at him. His neck tingled. "I'm just saying, as a teenager who's had detention, the Captain America lectures suck." He tried to make a joke, to difuse the tension. Maybe Tony'd just had a bad day...the man was under a lot of stress and had just had someone try to kill him. "I can't imagine he'd be happy with you working when you have broken bones. You should rest and heal up. It's not like you're a super soldier, you know?" Peter was worried. He didn't like the idea of Tony working with broken bones. Sure, he understood why Tony'd work, Peter worked beyond the times he should have before, but still. Steve really WOULD be pissed off if he found out Tony was working. Not that Steve was any better. Peter was quickly learning that Steve broke lots of rules. Those who don't do teach, right?

"I'm well aware. Don't need a lecture from a kid."

"I could always put together a report or something so you didn't have to come down here and strain yourself. I'm just saying, it'd be kinda stupid to reinjure yourself just to check on this stuff." Peter shrugged.

Tony raised his voice. "I'm sorry, did you just call ME stupid?" Their quiet, private conversation was no longer quiet or private. People from neighboring stations were looking at them.

"Well, technically I guess I did, but I'm just looking out for you. You told me you gotta rest sometimes, remember? I'm just trying to return the favor and help. What's going on with you?" The stress had to be real. Tony'd never looked at him with that much...disdain before.

"Look, why don't you just go work instead of bothering me?"

The words felt like a jab to the heart. Peter suddenly felt like a piece of shit, dead weight, just an extra pile of trouble for his dad to handle. He didn't like that feeling. He was pretty sure his mind was making it up. Either way, he needed the situation to defuse so his own brain didn't go off the rails. "Six." He said subtly. He hoped maybe that it would be enough for them to both take a step back, to breathe, to figure out why they were at each other's throats. The words stung. They'd always worked together on stuff.

Tony gave him a 'don't know, don't care' look and waved him off.

"I'm just trying to look out for you."

"And I don't need you to."

Tracy must've heard that comment, because she made a soft noise in protest and looked at them with wide eyes. "M-Mr. Stark...?" She gave Peter a 'what the fuck is up with him today' look.

"Look, Mr. Stark, I'm just..."

"Sh."

"Fine. If you don't want me here. Fine." Peter snatched up his bag. "I'm heading out. I need some air." Peter couldn't stand there and take any more jabs. His brain was slipping. The last thing Peter wanted was to deal with more trauma. His life was stressful as it was.

Tony waved his hand again and turned back to his work.

Peter felt that tingle again. But the anger that shot threw him smothered the bothered feeling. He huffed and stormed out of the room, ignoring the sad looks from his friends and the wounded look on Quentin's face. He headed for the elevator. "JARVIS, first floor."

"Yes, Peter." Without another word, Peter got down to the first floor and walked out the front doors. Anger fueling his steps. He'd just been trying to help, to keep his dad healthy, to keep him out of trouble with Steve and Cho. And Tony'd snapped at him. He'd IGNORED their signal, the one sacred thing they'd created to keep Peter from getting too stressed. It hurt. What the fuck was up with his dad?

He walked down the block, webbed his backpack to the wall and put on his suit.

"Hello, Peter. It's getting late. You won't have much time for patrolling tonight, but where would you like to start?" Karen asked.

"Fuck the curfew. I need some air."

-

"And cut." Quentin said as soon as one of his techs reported that Peter'd left the building in distress. "Not bad for a first run. Matt, you killed it on the Stark impression. Great job being an asshole. And Mindy, very believable Tracy. Nailed it."

Mindy took a little bow.

"Phase one has started, everyone. Let's make this work." Beck grinned. He turned and frowned. He didn't like having to use the kid, but it seemed to be the best and quickest way to get exactly what he wanted.

-

Peter swung across the city and found himself at the church. Sitting in the bell tower was nice, somehow. Familiar. He still felt angry, pissed at Tony, but there was a sadness and fear there too. What if he'd done something wrong? What if he'd messed up? What if Tony didn't want him around at all anymore? At least the steeple had a safe place still...just in case. 

The trap door opened, but Peter's senses didn't go off, so he knew exactly who was stepping up beside him. "Hey, Valor." Aaron teased as he stepped up to the rail. "Patrolling tonight?"

"Yeah. Taking a break." Peter hadn't started patrolling yet. He wanted a moment to calm down and breathe first. "Saw you on Sunday."

"Did I do okay?"

"It was a good message." Peter nodded and turned to Aaron, not taking his mask off. There were too many cameras around for him to do so safely. No one was looking up, but he didn't want to chance it.

"How are you doing, kid?"

Peter took a breath.

"That good, huh?" Aaron laughed. "I've seen that look before on my own kids. Who pissed you off?"

"It's just... I... We..." Peter huffed.

"Take your time, Pete."

"Dad and I got into a fight. He got hurt. He was supposed to be on bedrest. I went to go do my internship and there he was, working. I told him he should be upstairs resting and that Papa would probably be pissed if he found out."

"And?"

"He lashed out at me, in front of everyone. And I asked him to stop and he just...didn't. He said something that really bothered me and then... It was just hurtful, and he didn't even stop or ask why or say sorry or anything. He was just mean. It worries me. It's got me all messed up."

"Maybe once things cool down a little bit you can talk about it." Aaron said after a moment. "Everyone handles stress and pain differently. My youngest girl, stubborn as can be. She broke her arm on her bike. Next day she was back on the thing in her new cast. My boy broke his finger and demanded to be babied for a week, couldn't even bother to open the fridge on his own, he was absolutely ridiculous."

Peter laughed.

Aaron smiled. "People deal with stress in all sorts of ways. Some lash out and regret what they say. I've met your dad, he loves you very much, Peter. I don't think he'd ever want to intentionally hurt you. So give it some time to cool off. I'm sure things'll get clearer."

"Thanks, Aaron."

"No problem, Pete." Aaron stood up straight. "They love you, I know it. He got hurt, he's probably under some stress. Just give it some air."

Peter nodded, then jolted when he heard a scream.

"Take it that's a call for you?" Aaron wondered.

"Gotta go. Karen, what's going on?" Peter shot a web across the street at a building. "See you, Aaron!" He shouted as he swung away.

-

"Just a reminder, Peter, you're past curfew." Karen said. "Mr. Stark is calling."

"Ignore it, Karen. I've almost got this wrapped up. I'll be home soon."

"I think that's unwise. He's called twenty-six times."

"Just one more minute, Karen."

"Again. I would like to state my disagreement with your judgement."

"Noted, Karen."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And, if you can figure out what Peter's missing when he's arguing with Tony, you get a golden star.  
> As a weird note, I just want to say I haven't plotted ANYTHING in this, but Peter's invention worked out to be needed for the sequel and the thing that Peter is missing has been mentioned in the first story several times. So much little things have actually worked story and plot wise. Apparently no plotting is great.  
> Take care.


	5. Big Mood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't eat Tide Pods. Just a helpful hint. Someone figured out my hint and golden stars have been given out.

"Peter has just entered his bedroom window. He appears healthy, sir." JARVIS said. "There were no violent altercations today, according to Karen's report and my data concurs."

Tony's jaw flexed. "Thank you, J. What time is it?"

"Nine-forty-three, sir."

Peter was almost two hours past curfew, had left the internship early, and as far as Tony knew, hadn't eaten. Tony glanced at Steve, who didn't look pleased either, but Tony didn't want to lose it on Peter. The kid had gone through enough recently. He didn't want to go off on the boy, even if he was angry and even though it was justified. Still, Peter couldn't go without some sort of talking to, because going out like that wasn't safe. He took a deep breath in as Peter walked toward the kitchen, wearing a loose pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. 

"Little late, aren't you?" Tony asked, shifting uncomfortably. His ribs ached. Steve had been right, rest was the best, moving sucked.

Peter turned and paused. He seemed to consider his words. "Yeah."

"'Yeah'? That's all?" Tony asked. "We have rules for a reason, Peter. To keep you safe." Tony did not like the way Peter's jaw flexed and his eyes rolled, but he kept talking as calm as he could. "If it weren't for Karen, we wouldn't have known where you were tonight. You're supposed to tell us when you leave, and it's a school night, Peter. Why didn't you tell us?"

"Yeah, because you're ALL about rules."

"What?" Steve asked, his forehead wrinkled as he looked at Tony.

Tony sighed, he couldn't lose his temper. He wasn't going to lose his temper. This was Peter. Peter is a great kid and Tony wasn't going to be his father. "Kid, what's going on?"

Peter scoffed and shook his head. "NOW you want to talk?" His jaw tightened and he looked like he wanted to say something, but then he didn't. Instead he turned. "You know what? I don't want to have this argument. I don't need this lecture, not from YOU. I'm going to go to bed."

"Peter?!" Tony snapped. But the kid was already slamming his bedroom door.

"Do you want me to go talk to him?" Steve asked after a silent moment.

"No." Tony shook his head and sighed. "He's angry. I don't know why. Maybe if he has some time to cool off it'll help."

"Okay." Steve nodded. "Seems fair."

Tony frowned. "I read about this. Sometimes kids test parents, you know, breaking rules, just to see what they'll do. Especially kids in new situations. If I were in his shoes I'd be testing boundaries too. Maybe this is one of those times."

"I'd rather he not do it with Spiderman though, it's dangerous." Steve sighed.

"I agree. We'll have a talk with him about it, but...maybe this is just one of those little rebellions. He's been through a lot, we can cut him some slack...and he followed the other rules, even if he broke curfew. JARVIS said he didn't take on anything too big, at least he was safe." Tony rubbed his face.

"He didn't have dinner." Steve frowned.

"Leftovers?" Tony suggested.

Steve got up and squeezed his shoulder. "You shouldn't be up and about. I'll heat him up some food. Go take your pain meds and get back to bed. Rest will do you good."

"Okay. Make sure he eats, JARVIS. Peter isn't going to bed hungry here ever, got it?"

"I completely agree, Sir."

-

There was a knock at the door. Peter closed his eyes as the door opened. The instant the door cracked open, he relaxed. It was a normal heartbeat, not one that had a metallic echo to it. It was Steve at the door, not Tony. Peter didn't want to argue tonight. Then he smelled food. He opened his eyes and looked at Steve.

"Hey...I brought you dinner."

"Thanks." Peter whispered. 

Steve walked up to his side and put the large plate on the side table. Then he reached out and ruffled Peter's hair. "Hey, I know we probably seemed mad, but we're really just worried. We love you and we want you to be safe."

"I know." Peter whispered.

"There's just a lot of stress right now. I guess it's got us all a little riled up, yeah?"

Peter closed his eyes. "I'm sorry."

"I know. We're just trying to all stay safe now, and I know it's rough. The hits keep coming, huh?"

Peter nodded. It was an understatement. "It's just a lot."

"I know. One day it'll be normal again. Right now we all got to be on the same team, alright?"

Peter leaned into Steve's hand. Things were a mess. Maybe that was it. Maybe that was why Tony'd snapped at him earlier. Plus...Tony had hit his head, that probably made everyone a little grumpy and testy. "I'm sorry."

"Hey, it's alright." Steve pulled him close and kissed his head. "We were worried and you did break the rules. But we were only upset because we love you and want you safe, you know that, right?"

Peter pressed closer to Steve. "I know."

"We can talk about this later, yeah? Make sure you eat, bud. And get some rest, school's bright and early tomorrow."

Peter nodded.

Steve pulled away. "Love you, bud."

"Love you too... Can you tell dad I'm sorry?"

"You've got it, kid." Steve smiled. "See you in the morning."

"Okay."

-

Peter woke up and got out of bed, carrying his dinner dishes out of his room. In the kitchen, Steve was pouring coffee into Tony's mug.

"Thank you, honey." Tony sighed as he took a sip. He put the mug down and fumbled with a pill bottle. He looked tired, his hair a mess, his facial hair wasn't groomed, he was in a tank top and sleep pants, his arm in a sling. Dark bruises visible along his left side.

Seeing those bruises made Peter frown. Peter's eyes lingered on them. Tony really looked like shit, the only consolation was that heartbeat the echoed metallically in his chest. It was steady and strong, though he didn't even look able to open his pill bottle.

After a few seconds of fumbling, Steve snatched up the bottle, took two out and put them on the counter. "You can ask for help, you know?"

"And I should also be able to open my own meds."

Steve kissed Tony's temple. "I've been right where you are. It didn't bother you to look out for me and it doesn't bother me to look after you. Take the meds."

"Scolding me for pride. You? Pot meet kettle." Tony laughed, but he still looked tired as he downed the two pills, chasing them with coffee.

Steve smiled gently. "You're gonna make it."

Peter put his plate in the sink and gingerly walked up to Tony. "Are you feeling alright?" He expected Tony's face to harden, for him to be angry, but his face softened instead.

"Hey, kid. I'm okay. Little sore."

"And grumpy." Steve added.

"Don't call me Grumpy, Dopey." Tony rolled his eyes.

"I got that reference."

Tony turned to Peter and held up his good arm. "Come here, kid."

Peter took the half hug, careful not to touch his Dad's injured side as they embraced. He listened to the metallic sound of his Dad's heartbeat and relaxed a little. This was normal, it was right. "I'm sorry."

"I know, kid. It's okay. We're all going to be okay. I know things were messed up yesterday, but let's try to start over, yeah?" Tony offered.

"Okay."

"You know we were worried, right?" Tony asked.

Peter nodded into his shoulder. "I just...needed some space."

"Stark Tower not big enough for the three of us?" Tony asked jokingly. Then he squeezed tighter. "I get it, I do. There are good days and bad days and days where we just need to be alone. But space shouldn't include super suits, okay? You have to have your head in the game if you're going out there, okay?"

Peter nodded. It was true. Going out angry wasn't safe. He probably had been overreacting. His dad obviously loved him, he'd probably even come down to the lower labs just to make sure he was okay. Yeah, Tony'd been mean, but he'd also broken bones, hit his head, and been dealing with a terrorist running his company, not to mention he'd recently adopted Peter and gotten engaged, the man obviously was under stress. Peter knew that and...maybe he'd just taken it too personally. Peter'd lashed out before and regretted it. Maybe that was all it was. Two people under stress lashing out. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Tony kissed his temple. "We're all a little haywire right now. But we're a team, we're going to make this work. Okay?"

"Yeah." Peter nodded and pulled away.

"How about some breakfast? I'll whip something up before you head out." Steve offered. 

"That'd be awesome."

-

Peter took off his bag and put it down next to his desk. "Hey, Tracy, how are you?"

"Great, how's my favorite intern?"

"Alright." Peter said, signing into his computer. Tony, thankfully, wasn't anywhere near the lab on Friday. In fact, Tony hadn't done anything active since. He'd been laying in bed for the most part, sleeping. Peter knew Tony had a hard time apologizing, but it seemed like one, the way he'd kept strictly to his bedrest. Peter was glad his dad was resting. "So, I had a brain blast today."

Tracy frowned. "Brain blast?"

Peter tilted his head to the side. "You sure you're doing alright? How'd a Jimmy Neutron reference go over your head?"

Tracy looked disappointed in herself. "Shit, maybe I should sleep more...or drink less caffeine. The stuff makes me crazy. What's your big idea?"

Peter explained his ideas for the project she was working on. He wasn't exactly sure they'd all apply, but if a couple of them would work her project might go a little smoother.

"Wow..." She said with wide eyes. "Have I told you you're brilliant before?"

"King of the lab?" Peter asked hopefully.

"That reference my brain caught." She laughed. "Sure, you can be king of the lab. Thanks for the help. You know, I don't mean to be insensitive, but it's nice having you down here more often."

It was a little insensitive. Usually Peter'd be upstairs working with Tony in his lab. He was only downstairs so much because of the injuries Tony'd gotten. "Um...?" It wasn't like Tracy to make comments like that. She liked everyone. Yeah, she always teased about wanting to keep Peter on her floor, but she wouldn't go that far. Never say anything happy about her boss getting hurt.

"Hey, Peter, you okay?"

Peter jolted and turned to the man next to him. "Um, yeah. Quentin, right?"

"Yeah." He smiled. "I was just a bit worried. The other day was a little...tense."

"It was, but I think it's okay. Mr. Stark is just a bit stressed is all. He doesn't normally get like that. We talked about it, it's cool." Peter shrugged and turned to his work. 

"It seemed like you were really upset."

Peter frowned, but nodded. "Yeah, it's just been a rough time for him. I mean, his lab did blow up not too long ago. You know? Can't blame him for being stressed." That was all true, but not the whole truth. Peter knew it was so much more. Tony had to be really stressed and everyone dealt with stress differently, like Aaron had said. "It's okay. It'll be fine."

Quentin nodded. "I'm glad. So, you helping with Trace again today?"

"Yeah." Peter nodded. He was going to avoid his project for a little bit. He didn't feel unsafe, but he wasn't going to put his ideas out there willy-nilly. He felt like he was always being watched now, maybe it was just his nerves, or just the situation in general, but his spidersense was a constant dull hum, just a constant reminder that danger was around him, always. In fact, the only time he felt fine was when he was home or patrolling. That was a little tiresome.

"Here, so I added this section to the coding, want to look at it for me?"

"Um, sure. I'm not great at coding. Chemistry is more my thing and biology, but I would probably be able to tell if there was a flaw or something."

"That's all I ask. I'm not great at the chemistry thing. More of a designer and coder. Maybe a bit of engineering, but chem goes over my head. Don't know why you're on this floor." Quentin chuckled.

"It's okay. Learning new stuff is fun. Tracy's been teaching me coding. Mr. Stark's been teaching me a lot about engineering. Though, I think the best day ever was getting to work with Dr. Banner. We did some awesome bio-chem experiments. Totally up my ally."

"Don't sell yourself too short, kid. By the sounds of Tracy's praise, you're one hell of an engineer. Isn't that how you got the internship?"

"That's different you know?" Peter shrugged as he began to read the lines of code. "It's not like I'm trying to make... I dunno, nanotech or something like that. That's like hardcore engineering. I'm really just making a glorified battery is all."

Quentin laughed. "Has to be one hell of a battery to impress Stark. Trust me, I've tried. The man's not easily impressed." He sighed. "So, how'd I do?"

Peter sighed and finished his read-through. "Yeah, it's fine. I mean, I think you can clear up this section here. I think the complexity might lead to bugs further down the line. Tracy says simplicity is elegant, this part seems to be focusing on too much at once. It'd be like an off switch, you know? This one part bugs out then the whole system would be fried."

Quentin shook his head and whistled.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to overstep or anything. If I'm bugging you with...sorry."

"Don't ever apologize for being the smartest one in the room." He smiled. "You're right. It is an 'off switch.'"

"You were testing me."

"You passed, this time. I'm going to have to level up my game." He smiled.

Peter laughed. 

"So, Mr. Intern, since you're supposed to be learning. How about you try to re-write this in your own way?"

"All three of us could." Tracy said. "Make a bit of a game out of it. It'll be good for Peter. He needs to learn some cool stuff. Maybe if he ends up liking coding we can finally keep him to ourselves." She winked. "But I'm totally going to win this game."

"You're on." Peter said. It would be a good test. Plus, Ned would be stoked to be able to finally talk to Peter about coding. Maybe if he got good enough he and Ned could build better systems again, like they used to before Peter'd had to drop robotics.

"Race you, kid." Quentin grinned.

It was so on.

-

"I watched your footage."

"And?" Beck asked, sitting down across from Stane.

"Why haven't you asked him about his power source? I need it."

Beck sighed. "This is delicate. He's a teenage boy, a genius, and a nerd. He's naïve, not stupid."

"And?"

"Your approach doesn't work, Obadiah. You can't just bully him into giving you what you want. The kid won't know the difference, of course, but Stark will. And, I know from my little experiment, that the boy talks to Stark outside of his internship. That means that Stark cares for the kid, for one, and for another, it means that Stark is watching him. So, if we try to force the kid into something, Stark'll notice. But...become friends with him, play the longer game, maybe even make him angry at Stark a little. It doesn't matter. Once the kid trusts me, I'll get what you need out of him. You can have what you want and then I'll get what I want."

"What do you want with the boy?"

"Him? Nothing much. He's a good kid, bright, probably going to do amazing things. I don't want anything with him." Beck was telling the truth. He didn't want to hurt a single hair on the boy's head. The kid was funny and innocent, really he was. But, the way he looked up to Stark, the way he so quickly moved on from their fight, and the fact that the two had bonded...well Beck wasn't above using that connection to hurt Stark. Now Beck just needed to see how deep the connection went.

-

Steve looked down at his phone and smiled. "Hello, Tony."

"Hey, honey. I'm beating the shit out of Peter-"

"What?" Steve asked.

"I WAS KICKING HIS ASS AND NOW HE'S CHEATING!" Peter's voice called in the background.

"Don't listen to anything he says, he's lying." Tony said. "This game is totally in my favor. I own most of the properties and...oops, is that another hotel you landed on, Pete? Pay up."

"He's cheating!" Peter protested. "And then he uses his broken bones as protection against my wrath!"

"What's going on?" Steve asked.

"Peter and I may be playing video games." Tony chuckled. "I didn't have the dexterity for Smash, so now we're playing board games."

"He lies! He just sucks at Smash."

"Shut up, kid. He was a sore loser about Uno and now we're doing Monopoly."

"He's cheating! He's in the Matrix or something! He's one with the code."

Steve smiled, glad that the two seemed to be back to normal. "What do you need?"

"Since you're out, would you mind grabbing food? Lots of food? Peter said 'all the food.'"

Steve smiled. "Yeah. Anything in particular you want?"

"Well, since I have hotels on all four sides of this board-"

"Because he cheats!"

"I'm going to win, so I get to choose. I would like to get Chinese. As much as you can get."

"Okay, take it easy on the kid. Maybe let him win a game." Steve grinned.

"I HEARD THAT! YOU TRAITOR!"

"Let him win? Honey, do you have any idea who you're talking to? He's NEVER gonna win. See you soon, honey."

"Bye." Steve hung up as the arguing began on the other line. "Well, they're getting along." He drove to their usual place and got out of the car. He headed in and waved up at the lady at the counter who was very used to Avengers showing up for big orders. She nodded and ducked into the back. He heard her warn the cook that a large order was about to come in, then she came back and continued with the order she was taking in front of her. Steve leaned against the wall and waited his turn. As he did, he lifted his phone and smiled at the text from Peter.

Bud:

'He's cheating, papa, he needs one of your lectures. Give him detention or something.'

Steve laughed and sent him a text back, then asked if there was anything specific he wanted. A camera flashed and Steve sighed. He was used to it at this point, but he wished it wasn't common. Being a superhero meant people gawked and took pictures. Since coming out and being with Tony, that had only gotten worse, but it was worth it in Steve's opinion.

Bud:

'Egg rolls, enough to sink a ship. And kung pao.'

Me:

'You've got it, Peter. The usual for the cheater?'

Bud:

'He said yes and is angry that you called him a cheater. I'm glad you're on my side though.'

Me:

'I've played video games against him. He cheats.'

"Steve, what can I get for you tonight?" The woman called him up once the person ahead of him had their bags of takeout.

Steve put his phone in his pocket and walked forward. "I got a list for you, but it's shorter than normal. Is it okay?"

"We're happy to help, what can I get you?"

-

A short while later, Steve was home. Peter was standing on the ceiling, tongue out in concentration as he mashed buttons. Tony was sitting on the couch, also pressing buttons as cartoon characters battled on the screen. "Yes! YES! I win!" Peter screamed in victory.

"It's only because all the blood is in your head."

"Not true." Peter dropped and landed on his feet. "Food, I'm hungry. Truce for now?"

"Agreed." Tony pushed himself from the sofa, wincing.

"Ah, ah, ah. Stay seated. I'll bring you food, darlin'." Steve said, putting the food down on the table. "Peter, come get some food. The cheater can wait a minute."

"Both of my boys turned against me." Tony huffed. 

Peter piled a plate high and then went to the couch. "Wanna watch a movie so we don't have to endure him boasting about all the victories?" Peter asked Steve.

"Sounds fair. Something animated?"

"Yup." Peter said. "JARVIS, Frozen please."

"GOD NO!" Tony shouted. "Anything but that."

"JARVIS, Frozen please." Steve agreed with Peter, knowing the agony that movie put Tony through. 

"The vote has you outmatched, sir." JARVIS said, starting the movie.

"You are all horrible." Tony groaned. "I'm reprograming you, JARVIS. This house isn't a democracy. I alone am the law." He took the food that Steve offered him.

"I'm with Peter on this one. There's a reason why you aren't allowed to play video games with the Avengers." 

Tony rolled his eyes. "Yes, it's because you're all sore losers." The movie started, with singing. Tony groaned and covered an ear with his functioning hand. "Dammit, I can't even cover both my ears!"

"Language." Steve said before he and Peter began to hum in time to the music.

"I'm going to kill everyone in this room."

"Not a fight you want to pick. You're in no shape to be in your suit. We have the high ground, as the meme says." Steve chuckled.

"You're learning!" Peter high-fived him.

"From the best." Steve grinned, ruffling his son's hair.

Tony's phone buzzed and he lowered his hand to pick it up. His forehead creased.

"Tony, you okay?" Steve asked.

"JARVIS, get me the news."

Frozen paused and the news clicked on.

Across the bottom of the screen was a headline: America's Patriot Engaged to America's Playboy?!

The anchor was discussing a picture, then a film taken on a phone. Steve sighed. It was of him, in the restaurant. His own phone illuminated his face as he smiled and texted Peter. The ring on his left hand was clearly visible by how he held his phone. "Well, shit."

"Pepper's gonna kill me...only if Obie doesn't get me first though."

Steve glared at Tony.

"Too soon?"

"Big mood. Maybe I'll have a tide pod, I hear they taste like Gushers." Peter joked. "I don't think I wanna know what an angry Miss Potts looks like."

"We're all going to die, but at least I'll be engaged when I die, that way I'm not totally alone in the world." Tony shrugged.

"I think God has abandoned our timeline." Peter grinned.

"Same." Tony said.

"It's kinda creepy that you just...get it." Peter wrinkled his nose.

"I'm a genius, I can figure out Gen-Z humor. I think you're all idiots, but I get it. But you're right, the media's going to be storming the tower. Lovely. Pep's going to be in a mood." Tony sighed.

"I'm sorry." Steve frowned. They really didn't need another thing on their plate at the moment.

Tony looked at him and smiled. "You know, this is fine. The trouble's worth it, plus, I knew this one was coming. I mentally prepared for it months ago. We're going to be fine."

"It's fine. I'm fine. Everything's fine." Peter sang with a laugh. "You do know what fine means, right?"

"It means eat and watch your horrible movie." Tony rolled his eyes and JARVIS resumed Frozen.

"Sheesh, let it go. Frozen is a great movie." Peter grinned.

"Only to people with absolutely no taste."

"You're outnumbered, sir." JARVIS commented. "And not just in this room."

"I'm always outnumbered, JARVIS, that's how it works when you have the highest recorded IQ ever. It's not my fault I'm on a higher plain of existence."

"Mood." Peter said as Steve laughed.

Things would be fine. The world might be going crazy, but they still had this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I agree with Tony. Frozen is awful.   
> Take care.


	6. Found Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost all fluff. Lots of Deadpool 2 references that I had fun with. If you've seen it, you might even laugh a bit. I don't know how to write dancing things, but I've seen some really cool dances in my time. I did some combining of styles, but whatever. Anyways, hope you like it. I'm going to go collapse and try not to let my anxiety drown me. My brain is just super hyperactive at the moment. Kinda hard to focus, actually.  
> Enough about me, there's a story below.

Peter was nervous. Nervous enough that if he weren't in where someone could see him he'd be pacing the walls and the ceiling trying to calm down. Peter couldn't really focus on the task at hand. 

After warm-ups the instructor gave out slips of paper. "After you practice today, fill out these forms with what you want written in the program about your chosen performances. Keep it simple. I don't want paragraphs. A few sentences at most. Turn them in before you leave or you won't have anything more than a generic mention. Get to practicing."

Peter took a slip and headed for the practice room. Maggie was already there, quietly writing in a corner on a slip of paper. Peter sat in his own corner and looked at the blank piece of paper.

"Harder than it looks, huh?" She asked.

"Yeah." Peter agreed.

"Well, start with the easy thing, the style is ballet and freeform." Maggie nodded. "The song is Ashes. Now. What does the dance mean to you?"

"I don't think I can put that in words." Peter shook his head.

Maggie sighed. "Do you know why I jumped on board with helping you on this as soon as Lizzy told me she got hurt?"

"Because your nice?" Peter asked.

"That's up for debate, but thanks for the positive judge of my character. No. I am helping because I know EXACTLY what this dance means. I know...at least part of your story, Peter. And I know it well because I have my own version."

Peter paused and looked up. "You do?"

"I'm adopted too, you know?" Maggie sighed. "My dad was an officer, he was killed in the line of duty. My mom...she was murdered. I grew up abused and then a certain merc found me. He may have saved my life and eviscerated the guy who hurt me. I thought I'd never be happy again without my family, but here I am...living the dream with my found family. It doesn't make the pain or loss any easier, but Wade and Vanessa are my family now. And yeah we're weird. But we're family. I know what this dance is and what it means to you. They deserve to see it, so that's why I wanted to help."

"Oh..." Peter whispered. He'd never heard her talk about her past so extensively before. But he wasn't going to say he was sorry. He knew first hand that pity didn't really help. "Found family...I like that."

She smiled. "Yeah. So, you write down what this means to you."

Peter looked down and began to write. "Since...since you feel this too, do you want your birth parent's mentioned?"

"No. I've already done this in my own way. This'll be your time. Besides... I don't really want the attention their names might bring. My mom's death led to a...bit of a cold case. I don't want to have that attention. I've moved on."

Peter nodded and finished writing. It wasn't perfect, but it was as good as he knew how to write. "I think I've got it."

"Good. Now. I know you wanted to do a change mid-way in. You said we'd do matching colors. So, I took the liberty of going shopping. I'm pretty sure I got your size." She grabbed a backpack and pulled two sets of clothes free.

Peter's eyes widened when he caught the shirt she threw at him. Blue, the same shade as his Papa's suit and red, the same shade as Iron Man's suit. The colors were swirled together in an almost tie-dye fashion.

"I was thinking of wearing some sparkly gold eyeshadow. Too on the nose?" Maggie asked with a smirk.

Peter opened his mouth.

"I'm not an idiot, Peter. Plus, I'm the daughter of an anti-hero who says and I quote 'I've read this story before' and he fawns over Iron Man. You're dad fights bad guys. My dad gets paid to kill worse guys. I'm not even remotely capable of judging. I mean, have you met my dad?" She laughed. "I'm pretty sure your dad isn't the vilain he wants everyone to think he is." She stood with a stretch. "I'm not telling anyone, by the way. I'm pretty damn good at keeping secrets. I have to be, because Wade never shuts the hell up and I think he's always a page ahead of everyone else." She smiled.

"Maggie...I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to." She shrugged. "Life is rough, it's the least we humans can do to help each other from time to time. I know what apathy does to people. I for one am not going to sit on my ass and do nothing when I can do something."

Peter knew exactly how she felt. He grinned at her. "Thank you."

"No problem. No let's run this a couple times. We're going to do great."

He believed her.

"And...you don't mind if I keep my watch on for the performance, do you?" Maggie asked quietly.

"We practiced with it on, it's never bothered me. Where what you want."

Maggie's eyes watered a little bit. "Thanks."

-

Tony had his un-casted arm in Steve's. It took them a few minutes to find a seat in the auditorium. It was dark enough that they wouldn't be recognized, but it wasn't so dark that they couldn't see. Tony sat down and winced a little bit. His side ached a little at the stiff chairs, but he'd deal with it. He was there for Peter.

"You alright?" Steve whispered in the dark.

"Yup." Tony promised. He grabbed the pamphlet and flipped through it. It was a whole booklet, not unlike a playbill. There were pictures and descriptions of acts. Tony flipped through it until he got to a page with Peter's name on it.

Peter Parker and Margret Wilson

Presenting: Found Family

Tony soaked up what was on the page, because Peter had kept his dance very hush-hush. The song was one Tony had never heard of before, at least he didn't recognize it by name, it was called Ashes and apparently had an intro added to it. But then he saw the description, written by Peter.

'In loving memory of Richard, Mary, Ben, and May Parker. For my found family, who showed me that family doesn't end or even begin in blood, but in unconditional love.'

Tony felt his eyes water and he passed the open booklet to Steve. Steve looked at it and his eyes too, shimmered with tears. Steve leaned over and kissed Tony's temple. "We have a good kid."

"We have the best kid." Tony responded. The show started and Tony had to admit that there were a lot of talented kids out there. He had no clue how many of them could make their body move that way. It was stunning. But he wasn't there for any of them. He was sure his son's performance would be the best.

A young woman took the stage. Auburn hair and gloves, and oddly a watch. Tony knew her vaguely as the young woman who'd stepped up to be Peter's partner when Lizzy hurt her leg. He was excited to see if she was as good a dancer as Peter bragged her up to be.

And he wasn't disappointed. She danced like a professional to 9 to 5, her performance of straight ballet mixed with such a song...actually kind of worked. Tony appreciated her old school taste, as all the other performers before her had picked current hits, musical numbers, or classical music. He watched, amazed at her abilities.

As Maggie told a story with her dance. She had a black skirt, top, and gloves on, hell, she looked like she was going to the 9 to 5, almost dressed like a waitress, one who was forced into all black. The only color on her was gold, glittery eyeshadow, a small rebellion in her otherwise drab 'work clothes'. It was amusing to watch her dance, sometimes it was like someone was pulling her strings, moving her like a puppet or doll. But as the song progressed she became less ridged, more rebellious. There was spunk and personality in her every move. And, in the last chorus, with a casual brush of her hand over her shoulder, the black, drab outfit transformed into a blue and gold, glittery dress that proved that she wasn't just what her 9 to 5 made her.

It was adorable and pretty clever. Tony was pretty sure she'd just had one outfit Velcroed over another or...something. It was cute though. And she obviously loved to dance. 

She held her final pose, unflinchingly. The applause was polite, except for one man who let out a very loud wolf whistle and a woot-woot two rows in front of Tony. Which wasn't exactly appropriate, but Tony could sympathize with having pride in a child. Maggie bowed as the applause died a little, then she stood up and the lights dimmed.

The next act came on. And Tony, really wished he could pay attention, but Peter would be next. Tony tapped on his phone really quickly, to make sure the camera he'd set up above him would record the whole thing.

Steve gave him a look.

"Oh, come on, you know you want it filmed. It's our kid's first performance. And this way, we can both live in the moment." Tony leaned in and kissed Steve's cheek as he put his phone away.

"Okay." Steve agreed quietly, taking his hand.

-

Peter took a few deep breaths and hid his hands in his hoodie pockets. A gloved hand landed on his shoulder. "Hey." He turned and smiled at Maggie. "You did great out there."

"Thanks. You ready?" She wondered. She adjusted her dress. There were three layers to her outfit. Peter knew that had to be worrisome. He was worried enough about accidently tearing his hoodie off before it was supposed to.

"I think so." Peter nodded.

Maggie smiled. "This is yours. You've got this, just go out there and make them feel what you feel."

"How do I do that?"

"Let yourself be in the moment. If you believe it, they will too." She smiled. "You're going to be fine. I'll meet you out there. Just pretend it's you and me in a practice room. We practiced with the lighting during rehearsals, pretend it's rehearsal. You'll be fine."

"Thanks."

"I gotta get over to my side. Meet you in the middle?"

"Yup."

-

The stage went black. Light piano music began to play and the lights came up. Peter and Maggie began to dance together, not quite ballet, more freeform a little less professional. It was a slow, comfortable dace. They looked like they'd been dancing for years. Then, that's when Tony noticed the details. Green. Maggie was wearing green and glasses. Tony'd never met Peter's Aunt May, but Peter had told him her favorite color was green and Tony was pretty sure Maggie was wearing glasses very similar to the ones May wore in the photo next to Peter's bed.

They danced together, fell apart and came back together. Three times they let go of each other's hands. Then the fourth time their hands parted. As Peter spun on his own, Maggie flicked her wrist, the top of her outfit folded down, revealing an all-black outfit and she collapsed on the ground, graceful and devastating.

Peter stopped spinning and froze on the spot, staring at Maggie. The lights faded, leaving Peter in the spotlight, dressed in all dark grey. Maggie disappeared from view in the sudden darkness.

Peter fell to his knees. The piano music became somber, slower.

The lights came back up, revealing a backdrop. To anyone else, the particular skyline behind Peter would mean nothing. But Tony knew immediately what street Peter was on, he could even see the shadow of Peter's steeple in it. Steve, obviously saw it too, because he took a sharp breath. Animated across the backdrop were shadows of people walking by, as if all the people walked past the boy in his grief.

Tony could see a real tear on his son's cheek. But cheered for him silently as Peter pushed himself up and began a fumbled dance, as if off balance on his own. Peter stumbled and fell, but Peter couldn't be kept down. He got back up and still danced, unsteady.

"What's left to say? These prayers ain't working anymore. Every word shot down in flames." He seemed to be getting a little more steady as if learning to dance, to live on his own. "What's left to do, with these broken pieces on the floor? I'm losing my voice, calling on you."

Peter tried to dance, but as he did, his body shifted. It was almost like people were hitting him, shoulder to shoulder, making him unsteady. He fell to the ground and didn't get up, curling in on himself.

Maggie, her hair pulled up, free of glasses, wearing clothes that were hotrod red and deep blue walked onto the stage. Well, walk sounded entirely graceless. She was gliding, striding on her toes. Unlike the shadows in the backdrop. She didn't walk past the fallen Peter. She stopped and knelt down, extending her hand.

"Let beauty come out of ashes."

Peter ignored her hand and wiped his face, pushing himself up. He danced well, but not perfect, pure ballet. Meanwhile, Maggie started her own dance, more pristine, perfect in form. She kept reaching out for Peter, but Peter kept dancing away from her.

It was just so...real, so reflective of Peter's life. Tony felt his heart break, remembering the sad boy, the one he'd had to chase after to get him to come home, to get off the streets.

Peter avoided her a little longer, getting closer. "Can you use these tears to put out the fires in my soul?" Peter tentatively reached for Maggie.

Maggie grabbed his hands and pulled him close. Their dance was awkward as they met, two styles that didn't quite mesh. She had the clean, wonderful movements. His were rougher around the edges. Tony would say Lady and the Tramp, but Tony knew what they were really portraying, the difference between Tony and Steve's life in the tower and Peter's life in the streets.

The chorus began again and the two fell into a comfortable dance, one where they matched each other. There was one thing Tony noticed though. Peter didn't let go of Maggie. Having let go of 'May' Maggie and lost her, Peter didn't let go of this version of Maggie as they danced. Always, they were touching. As if Peter was afraid to let go again.

That hurt.

Then, Peter stumbled artfully, but Maggie caught him. And slowly, she leaned backwards. It was a damn feat. The small girl not only caught Peter, but as she bent backwards, she actually lifted him off the ground. She had to be damn strong to lift him up and over, then, Peter tumbled. Their hands were still in each other's as they lay on their backs. They turned their heads, shared a smile and lifted off the ground at the same time. Their bodies symmetrical as they arched off the ground, almost forming a bridge with their bodies before they both spun, never letting go off each other, but Peter's sweatshirt came off at the seams, revealing a hotrod red and navy blue shirt that matched hers perfectly.

This dance was perfect ballet and in perfect synchronization. There was genuine joy on their faces as they twirled together, taking turns lifting and supporting each other, before the music began to die down.

"Can beauty come out of ashes?"

The song ended, with Peter and Maggie embraced, their foreheads touching.

It took a solid second before the applause started, as if no one wanted to break the moment. The man, likely Maggie's father, let out a loud woot again, so Tony joined him. It had been absolutely beautiful and an homage to the struggles they'd been through. Peter'd lost his family, tried to make it on his own, and eventually found a support system, a family that could lift him when he stumbled.

Tony smiled proudly at his son and wiped his eyes. Below, he saw Maggie hug Peter, who appeared to be crying himself. Then the two pulled apart and bowed to the crowed, before heading backstage.

-

"Oh my God. Oh my God." Peter said, his hands shaking.

"Hey, you did amazing." Maggie promised. "It was perfect. Our best run yet. Those happy tears or sad tears?"

"Happy." Peter promised. "Do you think they liked it? Do you think they understand?"

"Peter, you had the whole front row in tears. Yes. If strangers got it, your parents definitely got it. That was a brilliantly designed dance."

"Thank Lizzy for that, I told her what I wanted to portray and she really did great designing it." Peter blushed.

Speaking of Lizzy, she hobbled up on crutches. "THAT WAS AMAZING! You did great you two."

"Thanks, Liz." Peter grinned and hugged her.

"You should be really proud." Liz promised. "You did great."

-

Peter stepped out of the dressing room and walked to the exit. He saw Maggie getting hugged by a woman with dark hair as a man with burns made wild gestures. Maggie met his eyes and waved. 

"And I told you Dolly was a great choice, though, there was decidedly a lack of swords, you got to step up your game, Mags. Next time, I expect weaponry to be involved. I can give you a few tips. Dubstep is great with weapons." The merc turned when Maggie waved to Peter. "Oh, hello, Peter." Wade said, smirking at Peter. "You did good out there, cutie."

"Thanks...?"

"Where are your sexy AF parents? Especially the brown haired one. Now he's a DILF. Where's he at?" Wade asked with a grin.

"Excuse you!" Maggie elbowed him and rolled her eyes. "Ease off. Ness, can you call him off or something?"

"No, I'm with Wade, they're hot." The woman with dark hair said with a shrug.

"Sorry, they're hopeless. See you at practice later?" Maggie asked lightly.

"Yup. Thanks, for everything."

"Any time." She promised with a nod. Then her head swiveled sharply. "Wade?"

"Code blue?"

"Yeah, let's go."

"Right behind you, missy." Wade nodded. "Nice to meet you, Peter Parker."

Peter nodded, not exactly sure what he could say to Deadpool, but he headed for the side-door. Knowing his parents would be there, avoiding being spotted. He kicked the door open and skipped down the stairs. At the base, Tony and Steve were waiting with open arms. He launched himself into their hug. "Did you like it?"

"Like it? Peter, it was beautiful." Tony whispered.

"You've got some mad talent, buddy." Steve said proudly.

"Thank you so much, Peter. That was...wow." Tony breathed, kissing his cheek. "Amazing, Peter."

"I love you." Peter said, squeezing them bother tighter.

"And we love you, Peter. So much."

"Always." Tony added to Steve's words. "Now, let's go home and curl up somewhere and watch a movie, yeah?"

"Sounds good to me." Peter grinned. "Can we have dinner too?"

"And dessert." Tony chuckled, ruffling his hair. "You get to pick, Mr. Fancy-Dancer, you've earned it."

"Thai."

"You got it."

-

Beck turned the device over in his hands as he walked down the hall. Peter'd been distracted earlier, obviously excited about something. Perhaps a date? Beck didn't know what the kid got up to. All he knew is that he had the perfect opportunity. It wasn't the full project. It was only half put together. It was Peter's upgrade. The notes he kept on the computer weren't exactly up-to-date. But Beck had this. He could pull it apart, maybe see where Peter's brain was going with his little project. If he could see the start of it, Beck might be able to work on his own version of it. But, he only had the night to work on it. He'd have to put it back on Peter's desk before the boy came back for his internship the next day.

Beck didn't want to get caught working with Stane. Even if Stane managed to get his way with Stark, Quentin still wanted to see his own plan come to fruition. That meant he couldn't be caught on Stane's side if Stane lost to Stark (again). Either way, Beck would have to stay hidden, in the shadows. And that meant keeping the kid from being suspicious of him.

So far, so good.

The kid was one annoyingly upbeat and naïve kid. 

Easy to fool so long as you played nice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so it was almost all fluff. Had to put some plot in here or I'd feel bad.  
> Sorry.  
> Take care, everyone.


	7. And the Oscar Goes To...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony stepped a little closer. His heartbeat seemed a bit quick, was he in pain?
> 
> Then Peter's eyes widened as the hair on his arms stood up.
> 
> That WASN'T his Dad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been a bit. I've written a couple other things too in the meantime. (Also, I'm very aware of how many times Peter says: Hey, Mr. Stark. In all of my works now, because it nearly makes me cry every time now. haha) But now this chapter has officially happened. Woot-woot.

Steve took a deep breath. He hated being a dancing monkey. But if it meant sparing Tony the pain of it, he'd jump in front of the metaphorical bullet. Especially when the man was already down a little bit. Steve looked of at the sound of an opening door, saw Pepper and smiled genuinely.

"I've got some cards for you. Should get you through the intro. Only vetted people got let in, questions should be pretty tame. This is yours though, you can leave at any time." Pepper said. "Oh, that won't do." She walked forward and pulled a thread from Steve's shirt and brushed dandruff from his shoulders. "Better."

"You are amazing Miss Potts. I know now why Tony says he can't live without you."

Pepper snorted. "He couldn't tie his shoes without me. Sure, he can engineer a badass suit to fight the monsters in a cave, but the man would forget to eat, sleep, and breathe without me." She smiled kindly. "And you. You've been a good influence. Glad me and Rhodey aren't the only ones kicking his ass into taking care of himself."

"Seriously, though. You're amazing."

"I try."

"Once this...big issue is over and Tony's not locked out of his own company, I think he has big plans."

"He said something about twelve percent once." Pepper shrugged.

"Twelve?" Steve asked.

"Turned him down. He's too much work for a measly twelve percent." Pepper grinned.

Steve snorted. "I think I could talk him into more."

"Don't bother, he started groveling. I think he said something about CEO."

"You'd be a good fit. We both know that's not up Tony's alley. He's actually happy in charge of R&D. He just...doesn't approve of the current CEO. Think you'd do good."

"He said that too." Pepper nodded. "But if I'm going to be CEO you're going to have to take on more of the baby sitting duties."

Steve laughed. "I'm going to marry him, definitely going to end up doing the 'baby sitting' plus raising a kid with him so... I've got it."

Pepper patted his shoulder. "And now you're calmed down. It's best not to go out there nervous, they can smell fear."

Steve opened his mouth and closed it. He really liked Pepper. Easy as breathing she'd helped him get ready, without even lifting a finger. "Thank you. I owe you one."

"Psh, Tony offered me twelve, one is chump change. Call me when you have a better offer." She winked. "Now go, you've got this."

Steve took a deep breath and headed out, into the flashing lights.

-

The press conference went...surprisingly well. Though Tony'd been unable to attend, Steve managed to handle the press very well, announcing that he and Tony were in fact engaged and that they hadn't set a date. He'd talked about how happy they were, talked about working through the current injuries Tony had. Steve may have even insinuated that it wasn't alright for the media to keep smearing Tony's character. And Tony didn't know how Steve could come across as polite and still make people feel like absolute shit.

Tony raised an eyebrow as Steve walked off the stage, then hissed when Cho pressed on his side. "Still sore there."

"You're doing great though." Cho said. "I'm surprised you haven't managed to reinjure anything."

"Do you think my boys would let me do anything to reinjure myself?" Tony snorted.

Cho smiled. "Well, at least there is that. You all have such little self-preservation the three of you couldn't fill a teaspoon with it. But you're also all very protective, so...maybe it'll even out." She nodded and turned to the images she'd taken of Tony's arm. "Good news, you're ahead on the curve."

"So, the experimental thing works?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, by the looks of it your bones will be healed two weeks ahead of schedule. Your ribs are already much better, seems it worked better on the fractures instead of the clean breaks."

"I don't say this to many people, but you're a genius, Cho." Tony grinned at her.

"Oh, I know." She chuckled. "You're going to have to see me next week, I'll see if I can take the cast off then."

"Okay."

"Keep it easy for now. If you don't, you'll only be on light duty for longer and I'll tattle to Steve on you. Seems he's feeling really righteous and protective right now." She nodded to the TV, where the press conference had just ended. 

"Don't do that. I'll be good." Tony promised.

Cho laughed. "Alright." She started to wrap the support band around Tony's injured ribs again. "Oh, and I saw Peter the other day. He's doing well. Maintaining his weight. Much more of a chatterbox too."

"He's been working really hard. I'm proud of him." Tony kept from making a face as he pulled his shirt on. "Things haven't been easy for him, but... He's been taking school really seriously. Straight A's. He's been doing ballet, which, my God, Helen, he's so talented. And he's been going to therapy. I mean, he's going through so much, but he seems to be handling it really well."

"Well, I can't judge his mental health, but physical health is an extension of it. Considering all he's been through, he's doing very well. I think you and Steve have something to do with that." She smiled as she got her paperwork together and slipped it into a folder. "Now, you are good to go, still nothing strenuous, okay?"

"I'll continue to be a useless bump on a log."

She snorted. "Rest is doing you some good on your general health too. I can tell. So suck it up and rest or I will tattle on you."

Tony rolled his eyes but agreed to the terms as he got up. "Thanks, Cho."

"See you next week." She waved and went on her way.

-

Peter walked into the lab and up to his desk. His prototype had been moved. He could tell. It had only been a centimeter, but it had moved. Someone had taken it. But, Peter wasn't all too upset. He'd messed with the base configuration. Even if someone figured out where he was going with it, they'd be left with a flawed power source that would cut off after two hours. Peter wasn't leaving his work done properly anywhere where someone could find it.

"Hey, kid."

Peter felt goosebumps raise on his arms. Something was wrong. He didn't feel like he was in danger, but he felt like something was off. He turned and looked at Tony. He didn't feel as mad this time, his dad was on light duty, but still, he wished he was still resting. "Hey, Mr. Stark. How's it going?"

"Peachy. Just seeing how you're progressing." Tony said.

Peter's eyebrows pulled together for just a moment. "Yeah, cool. How are you feeling today?" Peter strode forward the last step and grabbed the handle for the drawer, pausing. Something was wrong. His spidersense was going off. There was no danger though. His spidersense was just...humming. Nothing was wrong. Something just wasn't RIGHT. He shook himself and pulled the drawer open, searching for the parts he needed to fix his prototype and to advance it.

Tony stepped a little closer. His heartbeat seemed a bit quick, was he in pain?

Then Peter's eyes widened as the hair on his arms stood up.

That WASN'T his Dad.

The heartbeat the person/thing next to him had didn't have a metallic echo, nor was there a hum from the reactor. It wasn't his dad's heartbeat. That meant... Shit. Peter felt panic rise in his chest. He took a slow breath and then he turned and frowned at Tony. "Crap, I forgot I needed to call my parents about my ride tonight. Is it okay if I do that real quick before I forget? I always get hyper focused on this stuff."

"Go ahead, kid."

That was the wrong answer. Peter smiled though and pulled his phone from his pocket, dialing Steve's number.

"Hey, Peter, you okay?"

"Hi. Can you put Dad on the phone?" Peter asked as he walked as far from the others as he could, so as not to be overheard.

"Huh? Why didn't you just call him? Were you worried about waking him up? Anyway, yeah. Just one second, he's working-don't worry it's all holograms, no lifting, I told him I'd take his coffee if he tried anything too strenuous." Steve chuckled. "Here he is."

Peter heard the phone pass hands.

"Hey, kid. What's up?"

Peter didn't know how to get his point across without alerting people around him. He knew the Mr. Stark in the lab wasn't real. He didn't know if anyone else was with the fake Mr. Stark. Peter thought about his words carefully, in case they were listening. "I have the internship today, just letting you know, Dad."

Tony took a breath. Somehow he'd heard Peter's underlying tone. "...Peter are you okay?"

"Yeah. I just wanted to hear your voice. It's been a rough day."

"Then why don't you come home early? We can talk about it, right?" Tony asked, his voice clearly concerned.

"I might. I'll text you when I need to be picked up. Just, um, text me when you get here, okay?"

"What? Kid, I'm in the same building as you. Wait! What's wrong? Stay on the line, don't go." Tony said. "JARVIS, find Peter." There was silence for a moment.

"Peter Parker is in the building." JARVIS said in the background.

"In the building? Care to be more specific, J?" Tony asked, stress in his voice.

"I cannot tell what floor he is on. He entered the building ten minutes ago and got on the elevator, I do not know what floor he got off on." JARVIS answered. "There is some sort of error in my sensors. I cannot find him."

"Peter, are you safe?" Tony asked.

"Yes." Peter answered simply. He didn't have the feeling like he was in danger, everything just felt wrong. So wrong. And THAT man standing at the desk, even if he looked exactly like his dad, WASN'T his dad, it wasn't.

"Okay. I'm going to try to figure out why JARVIS can't find you. Are you going to be safe or do I need to send someone from the A-team?"

"No, it's okay. I'm just going to get a little work done, figure some things out, and then I'll see you after, deal?"

"Yeah, kid, deal. And if the spidersense says danger, you get me."

"Yeah, if I need to come home early, I'll let you know. I feel...alright at the moment."

"Okay. Stay safe. I love you, Peter."

"Love you too."

Peter hung up and took a steadying breath. There was one good thing from this realization. It hadn't been his Dad. He now understood why his Dad hadn't apologized for the argument they'd had. His Dad hadn't been the one to argue with him. His Dad hadn't ignored his sign. That was nice to know, comforting even. But now, Peter had to deal with this, whatever this was.

Peter went to the desk.

"Everything set up?"

"Yeah." Peter nodded.

"You looked a little off, you feeling okay?"

Peter rubbed the back of his head. "Eh, it's just been a long day. Got a headache."

The not-Tony made a face, but didn't comment. "Good to work on this a little bit? Heard they've been trying to sway you to stay down here with coding."

"Yeah, it's been fun. We've been doing challenges. I'm learning a lot."

"Still not as cool as upstairs though, right?" Not-Tony asked with a smug smile, one that wasn't quite right.

"Nah. Upstairs is still pretty great. Though, my favorite is working with Dr. Banner."

"Ouch, you know who you're talking to, right?" God, even the inflection was good, but it wasn't Tony. It wasn't. The fake, however it was made, was really, really good. The only flaw, the only problem with the not-Tony was that Peter could hear heartbeats. Anyone else would be fooled. Even Peter'd been fooled because it looked and seemed so like Tony that he didn't even think to listen for something to be off. But then he'd paid attention and he knew.

"But he's got seven PHDs and he gets all my chemistry puns."

Tony snorted and rolled his eyes. "Sure, kid. How's the update going?"

Peter looked down at his next upgrade and took a breath. He was going to have to fake this. Too bad lying had never been one of his strong suits. He'd just have to tell the truth, it wasn't like he had a full prototype done anyway. "Uh, pretty good. The projections I've got look good. Wanna see?"

"Sure, kid." Not-Tony deserved a fucking Oscar.

Peter frowned. This was...not good.

-

Peter got off the elevator and was instantly approached by two very worried looking parents. He held up his hand. "No. Stay back."

"Okay." Tony agreed, raising his hands.

Peter didn't feel his spidersense going off. And he heard Tony's heartbeat echo metallically. THIS Tony was real. His dad was real, that he knew for sure. Then he turned to Steve. "What movie was the last movie that was on on Christmas morning?"

Steve frowned and looked confused. "Polar Express. The one with the train. It's an animated one."

"Okay." Peter breathed. He walked forward and wrapped an arm around each of them. "You're real. You're really real."

"What happened?"

"I was in the lab and all the sudden Dad was there and my senses, I mean, they've been going off like crazy lately, but they were going off dully. Then I realized that the guy down there wasn't Dad, his heartbeat sounds normal."

"Wait...you saw me? I've been up here all day." Tony looked at Steve, concerned.

"Well, whatever or whoever is down there should get an award. I mean, down to the mannerisms. It was so distractingly familiar the first time that I didn't even notice the heartbeat was off." Peter pulled away.

Tony and Steve ushered him into the living room and they all sat down. "Okay. Start from the top, kid. What's happening?"

Peter explained the first time he'd seen not-Tony. The argument they'd had. "It really pissed me off...and I told not-you I was at a six and not-you ignored it. It really made me feel...bad, so I went patrolling."

"Peter, I'd never ignore that." Tony promised, ruffling his hair with his good hand. "Never."

"I know that now." Peter nodded. "How is it that this disguise is so good? It's not one of your masks."

"The mask was only for Nat, no one else knows about those." Tony said. "Maybe an LMD? Obie would have access to those. They have a heartbeat..."

"Why?" Steve asked. "They're robots."

"They're meant to be decoys. It's literally in the name. I made them as realistic as possible." Tony shrugged. "I'm paranoid, okay? I get that it doesn't help in our situation, but it usually works for me."

"Okay. So maybe an LMD." Steve nodded. "But you'll be able to tell, at least. But where were you today? JARVIS couldn't find you, so where'd you go?"

"I was on floor sixteen. Why couldn't you find me?" Peter asked.

"You were not on floor sixteen." JARVIS said.

Peter froze. Then he shook his head. "No. That's...that's not right. I was on floor sixteen. I was. I know it." But did he? It had taken him two interactions to realize that Not-Tony wasn't Tony. But he'd been on floor sixteen a lot, before Obie had found out about his project. "Has JARVIS been hacked?"

"I don't detect any flaws." JARVIS responded

"I'll check it out to make sure." Tony promised. "We'll figure this out. For now...let's act normal. In a week, they'll lose access to using an LMD around you. I'll be back to work so I'll actually be able to be there to look after you."

"Okay. I'll play it cool for now." Peter nodded.

Tony made a 'come here' gesture. Peter slid closer to Tony and Tony wrapped his arm around him, holding tight. "I love you, kid. Don't listen to a damn thing that fake says to you, got it? It isn't true. I love you and I will always listen to you." Tony promised in a voice that held no lies.

"Love you too." Peter whispered, and relaxed in Tony's arms as he felt a gentle kiss to his neck. "I'm not falling for it ever again. I know you."

"Damn right you do, underoos."

"Language." Steve snorted.

Peter laughed and pulled away from Tony. "Thank you."

Tony smiled softly. "Always, underoos."

"You're safe with us, you know that, right?" Steve asked.

"Yeah. I just gotta make sure it's you two." Peter whispered. "I know when it's you now, Dad. But...what if they try it with Papa? I mean...the fight aside, Oscar performance."

"A signal maybe?" Steve asked. "They could overhear words if they're somehow watching us."

"They don't know I live here." Peter said with a shake of his head. "I think they'd use that if they knew. And I don't feel unsafe here. I don't even feel unsafe in the lab. I mean, I feel...off, but the spidersense doesn't go off like 'danger' it goes off like 'something's weird.' Though when Mr. Stane was around I did get danger vibes. But in the lab I don't feel completely unsafe, more uncomfortable than anything. I don't think they're watching the house."

Tony nodded in agreement. "They probably aren't. That'd be too bold. I'd notice it."

"They likely won't use my face then, but...if they try to use me a signal..." Steve rubbed his chin. "Let's keep it to one sense. They don't know you're Spiderman, they don't know you can hear things other people can't."

"Morse or something?" Peter wondered. "I know a little bit. I think you know it too."

Steve nodded. Without moving perceptively, to normal people anyway, he made a series of noises with small taps and brushes of his finger.

.--. .- .--. .-

"Papa." Peter nodded. "Yeah, that works."

"Good, it's settled then. We'll always know, for sure." Tony nodded.

"What if they try to use me against you, Dad?" Peter asked.

"Believe me, I'll know if it's not you." Tony smiled.

"How?"

"I'm a genius, kiddo, and I know you. Plus, you and I don't often meet in public. If some kid shows up in my lab and isn't acting like my son, I'll notice." Tony nodded. "They don't know you like I do. I'm famous, anyone can play the snarky asshole, but you? They don't know you. They can't mimic you. You're one of a kind." Tony smiled gently. "Alright, that's a lot of feelings for one day. Food?"

"Yeah, sounds great." Steve said. "Want to cook together? We missed out on it Saturday, because of Mr. Bum Arm here. Want to learn something new today?"

"Sounds awesome." Peter nodded. "I need it after today. What are we going to make?"

"What are you hungry for?" Steve asked, looking between Tony and Peter.

"Pasta?" Tony offered.

"Chicken?" Peter added.

"Alfredo and grilled chicken? It's fairly simple. We can even do some garlic toast and salad." Steve looked between the two.

"Isn't that a lot though?"

"Not for two enhanced people and an engineer who needs to eat more often." Steve laughed. "Get cleaned up, we'll get this knocked out together."

"Just don't put Dad in charge of the toast. He'll burn it."

"Stop sassing me, boy or I'll make sure the toast is burnt." Tony teased.

"I'll put him on sauce duty." Steve promised with a smile as he ruffled Peter's hair. "No one likes burnt toast."

"What the hell? Both of you ganging up on me?"

"Language, Mister."

-

Quentin looked at the schematics of Peter's internship project, finding the upgrades he'd made along the way. Then he looked at the newest version Peter'd had. He put gloves on and pulled it apart slowly, piece by piece. There was a discrepancy, between Peter's original plans and the new model. "Hm. Exactly how close are you to Tony Stark, kid?"

The kid was sabotaging his own work. Altering it in little ways that made it impossible to work. Peter, would be the only one who knew that it was different. That meant the kid suspected he was being watched. Had Tony tipped him off that someone was looking for power? Peter couldn't have known on his own. "Stark warned the kid to watch his step."

Quentin laughed. This was the best news he'd had in a very long time. Stark really did care about the kid. Stark had a soft spot, a heart. He was protecting the kid, even when he couldn't be there. Quentin wondered how Stark would feel if he couldn't protect the kid, if he wasn't there for him when he needed help.

He looked down at the prototype in front of him and nodded. "Alright. Guess I make my own version of this little project." Beck grinned. Once Obie failed at his plan, it'd be Beck's chance. Stane was more ruthless than Stark, but Stark was smarter, always a step ahead. Beck would put his money on Stark in that match up. Beck knew he wasn't as smart as Stark, but he was cleverer and better at exploiting true weaknesses.

His care for Peter would be that weakness. And, thanks to a clever friend. If Steve Rogers happened to intervene, they had a tranq good enough to keep him down. It'd be easy enough. Really.

He didn't have anything against 'America's Patriot' nor did he have anything against the kid. It wasn't personal. No. Only Stark's connection to them made them usable. 

"Time to get to work."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Take care.


	8. Déjà Vu

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good golly it's been a long time for this one. I'm sorry. I wish I could explain, but I really can't.  
> Also, this chapter was almost titled Meet Cute. :-D

Peter's spider sense stopped going off in the lab. Not even the dull 'something's off' spider sense. Everything was normal, safe. Something about that unnerved Peter, but he didn't feel unsafe. Strange. 

"Hey, kid, how's your super-duper power cell coming along?"

"A little behind schedule." Peter frowned up at Quentin.

"Sorry, is that on us? I know we keep distracting you with out little coding games." Quentin itched his head. "I'm sorry. We don't want to get you in trouble with Mr. Stark."

"Oh! I won't be in trouble, don't worry. He says as long as I'm making progress and getting better. I don't have a set deadline, not really. It's been fun working with coding. It's so different. I'm not great at it, but it's fun." Peter grinned and wow, it was nice to not have his spider sense going off like crazy. "I like learning new things."

"Well, you're getting better at it. Just didn't want to get you into any trouble if you've got a deadline. I've missed one of those before, not pleasant." He laughed.

"I didn't get a hard deadline or anything." Peter knew he was supposed to, then he'd...well, collapsed of starvation and well... He hadn't gotten the deadline. That bit had been forgotten amidst everything else. Maybe they'd talk about it once Tony was back tomorrow. Peter'd get to go upstairs then, work with his Dad, no more worrying about anything strange downstairs. No more fake Tony. Just the internship as it should be. "Think he got distracted, with the explosion and all. But I hope I'm doing well enough."

"You are." Quentin patted his shoulder. "Anyone would be proud of the progress you're making. At your age, I was just happy if I made it to school on time. You've got this, kid."

"Thanks. And thanks for all the help with coding. It's been fun to learn."

Quentin grinned. "Well, you're welcome to learn more down here any time. You're a pretty cool kid."

-

Thwip! The wind felt amazing as Peter swung through the city. He heard a shout. Strangely he...felt like he'd heard it before. "Karen, what's happening?"

"Armed robbery at the-"

"Bank on Atlantic, right?" Peter asked. It was Brooklyn. But Spiderman wasn't just for Queens. He was on his way home from patrol, he could stand to go a little off course.

"Yes, Peter...how did you know that?" Karen asked.

Peter didn't know how he knew that, it kinda felt like deja vu. "Don't know. We got to help."

"I've called the police, Peter. Gunmen are a little above your parent's parameters."

"I can't just NOT help, Karen. I'm going." Peter switched directions and dropped quickly. He snuck into the building and paused from his hiding place in the shadows. Part of him wanted to jump down there, but his spider sense went off dully. He stayed where he was and took it in instead.

There were twenty hostages on the ground, hands over their heads. Five men in masks were pointing their guns at a lone girl who was still standing. The girl was wearing a navy blue pea coat. Her gloved hands were holding a silver staff. Her eyes were covered by a mask. Her head lifted just a little bit and she made eye-contact with Peter and shook her head slightly, but then looked down at the masked men.

"I'd stop if I were you." Was her voice, familiar? Her hair was... wait. That auburn color was familiar.

"You're just one little girl."

"Yup. Still, I don't like your odds." She spun her staff in her hands, casually. "One girl, five baddies. I feel like the odds are ever in my favor."

A man raised a gun at her.

Peter's whole body tensed.

"Shoot me and you'll just draw more attention." She sounded like she had a smile in her voice.

"Silencer, dumb bitch. On your knees, or die."

"I'll have the gun, thanks."

A watch started ticking. Peter could hear it. It STARTED ticking, as if it hadn't been before. Then...it was like the ticks were getting slower. Green light glowed off the girl's body. The gun fired and the girl moved fast. Peter shoved himself off the wall, and he felt like he was moving in slow motion. The baddies weren't moving hardly at all. The girl seemed to be moving fast. So fucking fast. Did she have super speed. But...if she did, why did Peter feel like everything was so slow. The others didn't even look like they knew something had changed. They didn't even seem to know that time had slowed to the beat of that slow tick.

The woman in blue disarmed all of the men.

Peter hadn't even made it to the floor when the watch started ticking at a normal pace, the green glow faded. 

"Oh, and there go my odds. Two on five now. And I disarmed you. Fun? Huh?" The woman asked. "Hello, Spiderman, thanks for waiting, would hate to see you bleed out...again."

"What?" Peter asked. Then he ducked under a punch. He webbed up the attacker and paused when he saw a flash of blood on the floor. The blood was pouring out of his own body on the floor. "What is that?"

"What?" The woman asked. She swung her staff and knocked out two men. "Just ignore it for now, I'll explain later."

Peter shook his head, the vision vanished. Then he webbed up the last two. "My head hurts."

"Must have a really quick brain...or maybe it's your powers. Only ever met two other people who could tell when I used my powers. Come with me. I'll...explain."

"Peter, this is likely a mutant with unknown powers. I'm sure I advise speaking with her alone. Would you like me to call for help?"

Peter's eyes met the watch on her arm. It was Maggie's watch. He knew her. "I'm safe, Karen."

"Karen?"

"My AI." Peter answered. "Do get ahold of the police so they can get the thieves picked up." He followed her.

She pressed a button and her staff shrunk. Maggie put the folded staff in the holster on her back before her feet left the ground and she floated upwards. "I'm sure you can keep up."

He laughed and climbed up the building. They ended up side-by-side on the building.

"Thanks for the help. I'm glad you were there." She put her hand to her side, as if covering a wound, but she wasn't bleeding. Then she stood up straight and held out her hand. "I'm Reset. But my friends call me Reese."

"And I'm one of those?"

"Well, when someone jumps in front of a bullet for me, I consider you a friend."

Peter leaned back. "Huh?"

Maggie, Reset, sat down on the AC unit. She looked down. "I have this ability. I have a danger sense, which wouldn't be useful on its own. But," she held up her hand, showing her watch. "I can...control time. Not much, I mean, not like Dr. Str-anyway. I can slow it down, speed it up. Even reset things. Most people don't notice. Their minds aren't quick enough, perceptive enough, smart enough, whatever it is... You noticed though. You had deja vu, I'm guessing?"

"Yeah...you said I took a bullet for you?" Peter remember the body he'd seen, his body...

"The first time I confronted them, there was a sixth man, he stabbed me while I was confronting the others. I fought them off for a time. Then you showed up. They shot at me and you just...jumped in front of me. Everything went sideways so I reset everything, went back ten minutes, took out the sixth man first this time."

"That's why you shook your head at me. When I arrived the last time, they started shooting."

Maggie nodded. "Mmhm." She sighed. "Anyway, wanted to say thanks. Even though you probably don't remember, I know you took a hit for me. I get all the stories now, about how much of a hero you are." She hopped down.

So, Maggie didn't just have a 'danger sense' like Peter did. She could manipulate time and fly as well. Cool. "It was nothing."

"And that's what makes it heroic. You'd do it for anyone. I've seen news articles of you saving the bad guys before. That takes someone special." She looked down at her watch. "I gotta go. I'll be in trouble if I'm late. See ya around."

"See ya."

She saluted him and ran to the end of the building, jumping off it.

"Damn."

"Do you know that girl?" Karen asked. "You seemed at ease with her."

"Yeah, she's my dance partner. My life is just...so complicated."

"Mmhm." Karen agreed. "Peter, you're nearing your curfew."

"On my way home."

-

Peter climbed in through the window and got a shower. He couldn't believe it. Well, he knew Maggie had powers, she'd admitted to them, but the fact that she was out there fighting bad guys. That was amazing. What was her life even like? She was adopted by fucking Deadpool and was a hero and ballerina. Who does that?

Then again...Peter'd been adopted by two heroes and was a dancer himself so... It was a thing, apparently. 

After he was clean and dressed he headed into the living room and looked for something to eat.

"Hey, kid." Tony came through and ruffled his hair. "I hope that's water and not sweat, kiddo." He leaned forward and sniffed. "Shampoo. I'm good. How was today?"

"Alright. No big things." Peter nodded. Except the fact he'd apparently been shot in an alternate timeline. "Found out a friend is a superhero. So...weird."

"Which one?"

"Reset?"

"JARVIS?"

"Yes, sir." Within a few seconds the air was filled with holograms. All different stats and videos of her work. "I've used facial recognition to ID her. Margaret Wilson, attends a creativity-focused school in Manhattan after attending Xaviar's School for Gifted Youngsters for a year, takes ballet lessons at Peter's dance studio, and volunteers at a food bank. Though her connection to her adopted father Wade Wilson (AKA Deadpool) is troubling, she doesn't have a single blemish on her record that I can find. She also seems to frequent an address on Bleeker Street with some regularity."

"Maggie? Your dance partner? Huh, didn't peg her for the hero gig, but they come in all shapes." Tony sighed. "She safe?"

"Yeah, no spider sense around her. She's safe." Peter nodded. It was nice to not be the only one with a danger sense. "It's kind of nice, to not be the only one."

"Me and Papa chopped liver?" Tony asked.

Peter shook his head as he grabbed a plate. "It-it's not that. It's just...you're both older and used to this kind of stuff."

"Plus it helps that she's cute."

"Wha-no. No. She's just a friend."

"I'm just saying. She's a cutie and you're a cutie and you know. Dating wouldn't exactly be a bad thing for you, kid."

"And add another thing to my plate? Was the therapy, dance, decathlon, high school, vigilanteing, and getting to know my place in a new family not enough?"

"Just getting under your skin." Tony poked him. "How is balancing all of it? Still doing okay?"

"Yeah. It feels normal...and new. New normal."

"Well, if you ever need help or it's too much, let us know. I know...things are crazy right now." 

"We've all got each other. Speaking of, where's Papa?" Peter asked, finding leftovers in the fridge and reheating them.

"Training exercises." Tony shrugged.

"Feeling better?"

"Yup, all cleared by our dear Dr. Cho. Hey, since Steve's off doing what he does...you and I can get uninterrupted lab time...if you want."

"That would be amazing!" Peter grinned.

"Finish up your plate, kiddo."

Peter grinned and dug in.

-

"The boy's being moved up to Tony's personal lab next week." Quentin said as he sat across from Obadiah. "It seems Stark has an idea about what you're trying to accomplish."

"I thought you said you could get this done, Beck. I thought you said you had it? Was I wrong to trust you? Do you know what I do to people who fail me?"

Beck grinned and reached into his bag. "About my funding. I'd like it in advance." He lifted his prototype from the bag. It wasn't as good as Peter's, Beck knew that. But Beck didn't really want Stane to have that much power anyway. This power source would give Stane a good upgrade, for sure. Enough he may even stand a chance against Stark, but Beck fully expected Stark to win. In fact, he was rooting for Stark, because Quentin wanted to be the one to break him. "That, right there, is the answer to every problem you have. No more Stark."

Obadiah grinned and leaned back. "Well, well...you really did pull through." He reached for his phone and swiped a few times. He turned the screen around. "Consider your drone project fully funded. I can't wait to see what you can do with more of them."

"Me neither, Mr. Stane, me neither." Beck grinned and put the power source on his desk. He stood and nodded. "Pleasure doing business with you. Please do give him hell for me."

"Oh, I will."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Take care.

**Author's Note:**

> Take care.


End file.
